

•I 4 w 


- , . , , .. V.., , . • »*v ■> •-■-•* *-v. •’••*» . %.*,m'MV ►•.*«*.*» ***' •• ' 

.«<»•■> ‘.••’V ***' 

, t m *. «i»* <*•*'*• V ,m* 






-- «,. n ,*■•■." ■ n«>* ..►♦*: ■.* *''»-•• • V • " 

.vi .*s um.. • S’.i>» a* .•> ,s • •*•», ’ i , ’>' .»•.*.,. >.•••■« * • '*»♦'»*••** ' 


■ » ‘P"Vtt 


■ -•%**• ♦ '»■* 

.... . , rv ! » 4 **- I ■ • • * '*' *»7 
• • i. 4k« • * • n i*» .*■»••". * m 

n x\r . *41-0* • • .'I* 


; «♦•* * ** ** k 




...,... -^u••■ - .•• •*• r* * . 1 * 

. h. .-a-. .*. -t-4vs i* ’’TV **, ,»»«•■* *4*m*»*r* 



, .•* • ■« * i' i ,, ^S • l >”' ' * .. »•.,»« , ..• •>. ' »• ' I* * ** 




Vf'ii'.. • ' • * * 


’vum'iwv .*•»'.nimM • * m+*iui<t unit**»t r »vr w i m »<tw <*** 




.’i V'4* »■\> 1 **f 4 * # 1 M**tM #**• •» 

r.rr?;:. 


•i ■»»' ■ 1 ■■' *'■ *• ...... • «V .”»*(• vf’.o • 


R| *».•• !, •> *’•• i**v > 

*•4. m. ,4 Ull| , , . •■» ».,.«*.•.• «’**«»» * ' 


, ■v 'if *V " 




»»• •» •• ‘a • • 


*’• uvTitiri" ' *<• *»• ! » '•»'■••' •«■••■ ' ■. ■ • -r*.. ... r. , i 

.,, f ' iv**« • Sjir J *«.’• '* . ’•*• <*i • ^ '• • '* •' , ; 

^ T . .^, • v . „ , i• •■ NiriV 1 ' 1 i s’ 1 :" ; 







' ' . ,..,», ... . ...» .. H^in" ’ •’* ....•*«•« «n ... 

A. t L.m^Vi . * •»•« • r**»*. * .•*- ..• , !222xT , ?r*r • .' . . • * ” 

. ... -- . ,|-4.■»»•*«• •• • *•» *''• • 


>. • »* ■?.. .i ■ • 


•*«•**'» 

,. .^’^n r-i 

< •* . , 4 m M ft? »i 1 

' ■.- 4.. 4 "-ifI > <!-*»• • W • ,'r 



..... ... i". . r ■ ■ 

i , 1. **(»>. . 

.. i. » *+■* ' r • ■ „• 

-- I , i « 4 .-i 4 »i« >l l 1 1 

. . . » . «* * *'■ 

I • . /**•»! -y» l • l ■ 






,. 1 '**•> 

« V .i, • •*!».»» ■ i tSl* V • ftl 

>i*(m i »•*' 

... ■ m ■*>* .-n*;• • • »• 

' *’W • «%• •-’■’A: < •» • ”1 

. . . .. .lalu! .1 I. I’-r *4 ' 




■ . «»• '• 






M< •••***m; 




♦ tt •«<«*^«»» |«4t> •"•Si 




•*sh41i 


^'.Ti v . / ,' ?.} • 


i «■«. • 

. u- • I'tlf 




. ... ' ■• 

• . •■..*.•.« •'! •<»•• ’ ' • *'*'•.'•'• 

* |*IS •.' til n»*'* , *4fS’St < l 


|M^' 4-'« " 4.1 Vi'** r<\ 

. i. >44< '* 




, ll ..i . *. > 1 1 ’ | 

,,•.•1 «,« . ** S , ,: Liitlfl 1 

1 «T" •<* * I 



"h, - h 

*v‘ 










„ .-4 ..S* ‘ ' ' 

.- * '.)l4 «* ’ S'l ’< ‘M 4 " *'• 

•« , t'OT*TV‘* 4 ’J < '' 


, . .. .. ... . ••>.’•.*••* 1 • • • “•»♦••• *• 

., . « M-i. •*«•«•. • ••>«•'. *..«*-<• • • • 

. , .V, . . • ■ ' » • • * ,.*»•••. •' t ••”• »<••’««■» 

..,.,,.1 *, ■■■.»• I f ' • 

,,,;.. 4 .,^ «. > •»•.•»’.' ‘‘ * 

., ,uM •• ‘ 


•M«*l ■ *• • ‘ ■ 


If (*S*M 

^ J 4 hi Ms 

1 ....■ . «••*•*• i-l;• > ■ * 

,.«,...*’»«r •♦•«•* ‘ *• * 

• »*.«•.« ■*»••• • 1 ••'• **•’• 

.- s .. •*** ** 

. 


«* 


.rn 


. ■ , • . » . ... «ii tp * . 

, 1 • 1 !«••». . • »-e %*»”• ** ““ 
• • •****! ’**’* 

• ’ * »4l.»t ? I• 1 S < ••■ ■ •• * 

. • • • '■•..***. •'• ... 

... «»• .. .%♦»!*.•**• • *’ • 

..... ' . ... 


-• • • • • • '. : . {•«.. 

■ 

W m'I W" - >■ • ■ " 


'4«,i •» ••' ’• 

mV' 












,...■; # 1 | ,.•*■: •• 
-*f. m.. •, ■ ilu 

u . 1 •< .. i •(' { "’Nf; : 

1 -** **^' 


,l . .iUf■;.<•■'■< ^Wvi ’1 


• *.• : \-i* . A it.MfU.itMM’. "4 


l|«l| 4 . 1 *■ 1 ••» II* S’* V* * 


.•#«•! • 


M ' 1 

S -■*«)•>«* * k «• > 


.««<*>*■ 

... , •■»<•* .V •< ' 






.•*.V*4v 




fSffflKKUi 


, 1 .... ... • • •• •■••■’ . r 

", . ” ..14 ■!*!*... .. . . * 

.-.. - • . • • 

. f • • ", , .». . **.. •• ' ... .,*..-S.I ..y‘ . 4 •’••-• 

' ' . ... • ' • 




'-•■ * '• <*’l. *’•• ' ' ’ ." ; v . ‘: d .Vi.4 ,,:.«>!■ .» •!-.-,Ml’ « 

1 . _;• j j, ,| .1 .•• • i n n.'i •>} 








Ws* ' "'i 

• . '**4 * 4 -* • 1 


... . .... • .' '• 1 . 1 . • I .• ” • . , ; ... . .#*.•■ .a. ' »•*■-■*" •.•■'I «*«•*•“ 

..• * .. t a'.<U> .....•.•*»*.**. *• .. . 

*.. .:,■*u ,.!-Jin ... .... . .. '«xrr:*T:. 


..«•(» . 1 . 


• M'iU.i. ••* 




•*. • ....... .. . • . .* *• • •»■ 

■ • . .. . ••••' 

>t <»• »*•. -..»«.... IkU I .•;4 • .* 4 ‘.*' 

. 1 .... . 1 . 

....»#• l«i'* 

..»«< •• 


• M.<> t.. 














•n >m -n•• 

. ; • ■ • •• • •* 1 .1 • . . .. ••** ;*"*••* 

... •. • *»*«#•■ nvH'"'** ' •• * 4 *'* *** J 

. .. .4 .*■»*.«•»•!■.••'••#” 

... ....... • • * • • • •“ '* •••'•■•' •• 

•«.<!« I I . *•' «W«liM «•*•»• •»***'144* • •♦.«•_ 

. • 

»<•.’ . 

.4 .... 

4 ,. | 4 ... ... *».|.Jl M* *•* ••♦«*' 

ii. • .*4..♦*•«•“** 

, || ..’.g «Al » , 4 KA>M» . 

. s. ..^-.. 44 *.. »«t*t**.»*« 

| *0»I» »rt* MU 

.... ¥ t> . *... « *•>• «A 44 .,., 

,. , ,S.«| > «..«'...%•.•.►•♦ *4 .»* I< 
*4« » 

m at. t. •*..s 1 **-‘* ***•'•;*■ 

. . .. . ••*• ' 

.ill •«••>• < *>•- 1 »««•*•» .4 4» .t* 4.1 ■ 
4*1..44.’••••«• 

, “S’ 1 •' *••*'* 

.'.. • *»" 

4V******a. *•"•••'. 

.... ..^ - »».»> • -*• 4 *• » 4 »*4-M.»a« 


.. 


i•« 






4H4l«'M» 4 

, . 






, 7-1 . • ■■ - : " .. . 

•/> v . . 1 * ;' * "’V* 4 , 


... ' ’ 4 “« *;— 4 M.* 4 l«.*«l 44 

» 14 - 4 * 4 I.U «*0 

.1 4 (f <H-ni «^4 4 **‘ •« “» 4>1 4 * — •« 1 
4 '» 4 .y .•liart* 4 .** »•••'• 

Ml" . «M 4 » 4 .»»»'«'' 4 '** 

4... .«• 4^«.44N*l.M«4ta4l*4*'. 

..», 4 .'l. 4 .'h»..W 4 ;^« 

|44.«>I n . . . I* . •J.tl'*rt4ivi 

• 4 .4.1I 4 < 4 «<*••»»* **•*'* “* 

I *4.»> • "' 

' * 

* 4 t'»rf 4 ’ 4 **l 4 '“’« 4 'l ih. M. 4 .*' 

■ 4, 4.44 4 ‘ . J 4 

. !• ’ 

1 •'»*'■* J 

1.4 v. 1 . |.».44^* ! *«««1**IM|M» 4 'I'*IW’ 1 
... .1. A -1L ... . ... t J t I dCk.t .0 ’ 4*V 41* I 




























































% 

« 





COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 


































































































































































































































































‘ 




































































































































































































































- 
































































































































































* 
























THE VOYAGE OF LIFE. 

A Vision of the Heavenly Home 





















LIFE TRIUMPHANT 

A STUDY OF THE 

Nature, Origin, and Destiny 
ot Man 

INCLUDING A CAREFUL INQUIRY CONCERNING 

THE CONQUEST OF DEATH 

THE CONDITIONS OF EXISTENCE BEYOND THE GRAVE 

AND THE 

SOLEMN AND STUPENDOUS EVENTS OF THE 
RESURRECTION AND THE JUDGMENT 

WHICH ARE TO CULMINATE IN 

Cbe Great Consummation of the Kingdom of God 

TJxT" 

By JOHN E: n READ 

ASSISTANT EDITOR OF THE COLUMBIAN CYCLOPEDIA 

With an Introduction by 

REV. CHARLES H. PARKHURST, D.D., LL.D. 


ILLUSTRATED 



A. J HOLMAN & CO. 

PHILADELPHIA, PA. 

r \ 

1 tri 






TWO COPIES received, 


l fbrnry of Congr8«% 

Office of the 

M". v 9 . (goo 

Regl*tor of Copyright* 



57621 


Copyright, 1900, by Geo. S. Lare. 


All rights reserved. 


SECOND COPY, 


O . G o 2 — 
*v_3 j / 'y 



INTRODUCTION 


It is a very pleasant concurrence of circumstances that has 
again brought me into personal relations with my old pupil and 
friend, the author of this volume. Conditions are greatly changed 
with us both since the times, thirty years gone, when we looked 
into one another’s eyes as teacher and taught; but, if I may 
infer from the character and tone of that which he herewith 
gives to the public, there remains in him still the same old seri¬ 
ous quest after truth that distinguished him in his young student 
days, and the same engrossment with the things that are real 
and eternal. 

When the sun has passed the meridian the eye of the observer 
turns with always increasing frequency and thoughtful regard 
toward the place of the sun’s setting, and even while it is still 
bright and sunny afternoon the stealthily lengthening shadows 
already appeal to the soul in terms of speechless but persuasive 
reminder. 

One of the earliest recorded attempts to deal with the vast 
question of the hereafter was made by the man of Uz: “ If a 
man die shall he live again ? ” Question ; and most of our know¬ 
ledge was question before it became knowledge; and sometimes 
question is a great while in becoming knowledge. Nearly every 
generation reduces to certainty something that in some previous 
generation was nothing but inquiry. Very often the genera¬ 
tion in which the question starts long antedates the generation 
when the question stops, — that is, when the question gets an¬ 
swered. For example: Cain once asked, “ Am I my brother’s 
keeper?” That question hung in the air a good many cen¬ 
turies ; finally, after at least four thousand years, Christ took it 
down out o.f the air and said, “Yes, you are your brother’s 
keeper.” Four thousand years was a good while to wait, but 
there is nothing which exists so abundantly as time, — unless 


2 


INTRODUCTION 


perhaps it is space, — so that no amount of time can be called 
“ long time,” provided only it does what is wanted of it, and 
yields fixed result that will stay fixed. 

Job, too, who felt of the future with the question just quoted, 
lived so long ago that nobody, I believe, knows exactly how long 
ago he lived, and his question likewise, after hanging in the air 
some thousands of years, was taken down by the same Christ 
that took down Cain’s question; and His emergence from the 
grave was one way He had of answering back to Job through 
the intervening centuries and saying, “ Yes, if a man die he 
shall live again.” 

After our Lord’s answer, Job’s question ceased to be question. 
This is true at least so far as His disciples were concerned, 
Thomas being the only one with whom the interrogation point 
did not readily reduce to a period. The process by which 
Jesus wiped from Thomas’s mind the lingering traces of incerti¬ 
tude is interesting. It is always interesting to observe the steps 
by which a man or a boy grows up to the size of his inquiry,— 
the steps, I mean, by which inquiry becomes converted into 
conviction. 

This matter of converting inquiry into conviction is one that 
deserves from parents and teachers a little more careful heed 
than is wont to be given to it. We can say to a boy, “ Believe 
what I tell you because I tell you.” That is well enough; only 
we must bear in mind that we are thereby attempting to put 
into his mind something that is a little more than his mind has 
yet grown large enough to hold. It may grow to it later, but 
has not yet; and conviction that a boy or a man can carry on 
the inside of his mind is usually a good deal more profitable 
than conviction that has to accommodate itself, the best it can, 
on the mind’s exterior. Thomas could have been told to be¬ 
lieve in Jesus’s resurrection on the authority of Jesus’s own word 
for it, or the word of his fellow disciples, but a question would 
still have lurked on the inside of what Thomas might have tried 
to call his conviction; and conviction could have become solid 
and entire only when he had grown to the dimensions of his 


INTRODUCTION 


3 

own inquiry, and become large enough to accommodate, as an 
assurance, what had at first been obliged to lodge outside as an 
uncertainty and a query. 

This matter of outgrowing an uncertainty — finding interior 
accommodations for what has been obliged to room outside as 
an inquiry and a doubt — becomes interesting and serious 
especially when the question involved is one so earnest as that 
which composes the subject-matter of this volume. When 
Jesus had to deal with the questioning Thomas upon this pro¬ 
blem, there were two ways in which He could have proceeded 
with him. He could have narrowed the question to the limita¬ 
tions of Thomas, or He could have widened Thomas to the 
dimensions of the question. Probably the former method is the 
one most in vogue with us. When I am approached by a man 
who is perplexed with the question of resurrection, immortality, 
or matter kindred, my first impulse always is to try to reduce 
the difficulties of the question, and to make the question a little 
smaller to the mind of the inquirer than it seems to him to be. 
I take the measure of his mind, soul, or whatever we like to call 
it, then compute the size of the truth that I want to have lodged 
in him. If, upon comparison, I discover that the truth will not 
go in the mind without a remainder, I go about to chip off 
enough of the truth to reduce discrepancies, and try again to 
see if the two will fit. I am only describing now the policy 
that it is one’s first and natural impulse to adopt when the fact 
or truth to be received is larger than one’s easy capacity for 
receiving it. 

This accounts for the disposition, that is so prevalent a one, 
to simplify religious truth, and to make it out smaller and easier 
than it first off looks to be. The method may be at fault, but 
the ultimate purpose had in view is at once kindly and intelli¬ 
gent, for it is neither a comfortable nor a safe condition for a 
man to be in to be straining himself to believe more than is 
easy for him. What we call skepticism is often only another 
name for the pain that is caused a small mind by trying to con¬ 
tain a truth that is too big for it. When, therefore, Thomas had 


INTRODUCTION 


4 

difficulty with the matter of a risen Lord, and would not at first, 
because he could not, believe that the Lord was risen, every¬ 
thing was made easy for him ; but it was not made easy by par¬ 
ing down in any way the fact set before him to believe. In 
other words, our Lord did not accommodate the fact to Thomas 
but accommodated Thomas to the fact, — made Thomas large 
enough so that he could hold the fact without its paining him. 
It would be interesting to know exactly how it was the Lord 
did this, and just what the change wrought in Thomas was that 
while, at one time, he was so strenuous in his disbelief in a risen 
Christ, he was so soon after so cordial and impassioned in his 
belief in a risen Christ. But more important for us than the 
method is the fact that Thomas became able to believe the 
event by being himself enlarged, rather than by the event being 
belittled; he grew to the stature of the fact given to him to 
accept. 

It is at least clear that this enlargement did not come about 
as a result of Christ’s declaring that He had risen or by any re¬ 
iteration of such statement on the part of his fellow disciples. 
It takes a good deal beside reiteration to reach the point where 
conviction is made. A disproportionate emphasis is often laid 
upon the repetitious statement of such a truth as resurrection, 
and too little thought given to cultivating the soul to such a 
degree of religious appreciation as shall make that truth possible 
and easy. The object of ordinary school training is not accom¬ 
plished by making pupils willing to hear what their teacher tells 
them, but by making them competent to discern and feel for 
themselves the truth of what their teacher tells them. 

Let now that same principle be adopted into the child’s 
Christian nurture. The aim of such nurture dare not consider 
itself attained by any number of religious things told to the 
child, — no matter how many times they may have been told,— 
but by the amount of religious fibre wrought into the child, the 
delicacy of religious sensibility, the depth of religious discern¬ 
ment, — in a word by the amount of religious faculty secured to 
the child, by means of which the great facts and sublime realities 


INTRODUCTION 


5 

of the Christian religion come within the scope of his own per¬ 
sonal knowledge and personal appreciation; so that he is able 
to say that he believes in immortality not because somebody 
else has believed it and has told it to him, — mother, minister, 
Sunday-school teacher, — but because he has grown up reli¬ 
giously into that wide and open atmosphere where the great 
realities lie out in sight, ready to be felt, easy to be seen. This 
is the only thing that can rub out queries and break down reli¬ 
gious interrogation points into solid and blessed periods. 

One cannot observe the easy and confident way in which the 
Apostles speak and write about things that may be to most of 
us invisible, and about such vast matters as the resurrection 
and the life eternal, without feeling that that ease and confidence 
do not come because they have so learned the phrases that they 
can repeat them without a slip, nor because they have narrowed 
the import of these things to so small a meaning that they can 
handle them with a mere every-day kind of dexterity. The 
truth of the case is rather felt to be that they have become so 
spiritually schooled and built up in Christian stature that the 
great things of the soul and the vast meanings of revealed truth 
lie as easily and intimately near to their elevated understandings 
as ordinary truths do to men of common discipline, or as the 
primer does to the a-b-c-darian. 

I am led by the Scriptures, by the testimony of many later 
prophets and apostles, and by my own occasional swift moments 
of richer experience, to feel that all these matters, to a soul that 
is grown up to them, are as simple and natural and unproblem¬ 
atic as is the multiplication table to a mind sufficiently trained 
to have a distinct sense of quantity. We know, some of us, 
how long one can walk over confused misty mountain-ground, 
where every object we come near to is a problem and the whole 
landscape is spread out before us in blurred interrogation; and 
yet all the time we are certain that somewhere a little way up — 
we are not sure how far up — every object is distinctly outlined 
and clothed in glistening light that makes it as intensely real to 
the eye as any object it may long have been familiar with ten 


6 


INTRODUCTION 


thousand feet below. The great problems of the natural and 
likewise of the spiritual world are not problems because of their 
own intricacy, but because we are not at the altitude where they 
can shine into our eyes with lines of full and level light. 

There come to us moments — almost all must have had them 
at one time or another—when these great matters, that on 
other occasions seem so difficult and so almost impossible, some¬ 
how lay themselves out before us in a way that bring them close 
to us, easy to the thought, dear to the heart; and so far from 
their straining our minds into hard knots of perplexity, our chief 
wonder is how they ever could have perplexed us, and how they 
ever could have seemed to us other than natural and easy. 

That gives us the difference between natural and revealed 
religion. Natural religion is so much of religion as is evident 
without any one telling it to us. Revealed religion has to be 
told to us, but just as fast as we grow toward it, and grow into 
it, revealed religion becomes itself natural religion, just as in the 
physical world things that lie away outside of our horizon gradu¬ 
ally creep up over the horizon and into sight exactly so fast as 
we move toward the horizon. 

That is why holy living has so much to do with the fresh 
vigor of a man’s religious assurances. We cannot live in a foggy 
atmosphere and still see the stars. Affections that only busy 
themselves with coarse and defiled objects of regard cannot an¬ 
swer back with tender or even intelligent responsiveness to the 
intimations that the celestial verities attempt cqntinually to 
make of themselves to us. The music that is in the air cannot 
make itself audible to us except along the line of the music 
that is first in the soul. 

Nor again, however simple and honest its intent, can a soul 
come to the stature of reaching with easy approach such a tre¬ 
mendous reality as that of a Christ risen or of a human life that 
goes on forever and ever, if it is an unfed soul, and is starving its 
unutterable possibilities of vision and experience by attempting 
to feed them upon that which is not bread. I believe there is 
nothing in all the great range of truths brought before us in 


INTRODUCTION 


7 

this volume that will not fasten itself to the soul, if only the soul 
has fed itself upon the heavenly manna of the pure truth of God 
as it comes into the world and into the heart, in the life and 
death of the mysterious Man of the Gospel. 

Manifold and distracting and wearisome as may be the details 
of our workaday experience here on the earth, nevertheless we 
must find a time and a place for the soul’s culture, for the nour¬ 
ishing into stature of its waiting powers and towering possibili¬ 
ties, that just as naturally push their way up into the region of 
truth and of the big realities, as the vegetable germ, fed upon 
the dew and the sunshine, lengthens itself into the air and 
toward the firmament. Huxley will not help us much; Mill 
will not help us much; even Herbert Spencer will not make 
either the temporal or the eternal world altogether bright around 
us. The true solvent of Christian problem is Christian growth. 
These great matters to which these pages are devoted are mat¬ 
ters for us , and for us to know and to rejoice and triumph in, 
and to be confident and expectant over. If they are a suspicion 
not only, but a vast assurance, they make to-day glorious, all 
time immense, and the great life eternal precious and real. 

But we have got to grow to it, and that, too, by nourishing 
our souls on that divine meat that will produce growth. And 
we are growing to it. That is why we can ask Job’s old ques¬ 
tion with at least a different inflection from that with which Job 
asked it. If there is some interrogation in the question still, 
there is less than there was five thousand years ago. It is a 
good while; but even a little gain is a great gain. That is why 
the world’s celebration of Christ’s emergence from the tomb is 
something beside performance. It is partly ceremony to be 
sure. There is in the celebration more music than confidence, 
more flowers than unquestioning assurance. But there is in it 
some confidence that is entire, some assurance that is absolute. 
And that is why from century to century the Easter festival of 
resurrection and of life eternal means always more and more. 
With all that there is about it that is worldly, petty, and fool¬ 
ish, there is nevertheless a body of men and women that are 


8 


INTRODUCTION 


approaching more and more closely to the reality of things, that 
are growing in all the best elements of growth, that are pushing 
out their own horizon till things that lay before the sunrise and 
beyond the sunset are standing forth into view. They are feed¬ 
ing themselves upon the Bread of life. They are growing up 
into the knowledge of God. The slow tuition of the centuries 
and of the divine Spirit is letting them farther and more deeply 
into the ineffable Presence. 

The world is not meaning less, and threescore and ten do not 
mean less, and man is not becoming small to human regard, 
but thought, with those tendrils of delicate passion that sincere 
thought always runs out into, is twining itself more closely 
about the larger world of which this present world is but the 
antechamber; about the greater life of which this present life 
is only vestibule, and above all about God, and God, too, as the 
world knows Him in Jesus Christ. I do not say this of all, but 
it is true of some, and where that “ some ” is going, where that 
minority, standing in the van with heaven-turned faces sun- 
crowned, is going, the rest are going to follow, though it be 
longer after to-day than to-day is after the day when Job asked, 
“ If a man die shall he live again ? ” 

To know God is to be sure of immortality. Even to believe 
in God is to suspect immortality; but to know God is to be 
sure of immortality; for to know Him is to know His infinite 
tenderness toward His children; and the child that God loves is 
going to be taken care of, and the cradled child of such a Father 
never will be rocked to a slumber that knows no waking. 


New York, N. Y. 


To the memory of his eldest son, 
ALFRED H. READ: 

An earnest and efficient worker in the Church and 
the community ; who departed this life 
at the early age of twenty-four 
years and two months, 

This book is lovingly dedicated 
by the author. 






PREFACE 


A vast and mysterious problem is presented by death. The 
great procession of the human race is steadily marching on. Its 
progress is as ceaseless as is the flow of time. Each member of 
the mighty host keeps his own path and that path leads to an 
open grave. The race will move on as it has been moving for 
thousands of years. But for the individual who drops out of 
the ranks the grave appears to be the end of life, and of every¬ 
thing with which life was connected. 

Is it true that the grave is the end ? This is a question of 
universal and of vital interest. It concerns the beggar who 
wanders about the streets as truly and as fully as it does the 
rich man in his luxurious home or the king upon his throne. 
The one is no weaker in the presence of death than are either 
of the others. And each man will either perish when he dies, 
or will take his own self — just that and only that — into the 
world which lies beyond the range of his earthly vision. 

The answer which the careful inquirer obtains is that the 
grave is not the end of existence. Death merely marks the 
close of the earthly pilgrimage. Only the body perishes. The 
soul lives on. The place of abode has been changed, and the 
conditions of life are very different from those which prevailed 
on earth. But the real person does not die. 

When a man is fully convinced of this he will, if wise, ask 
himself if there is not to be something after death with which 
he should be far more deeply concerned than he is with the fact 
of death itself. He must admit the possibility that there may 
be something of a very serious nature awaiting him after he 
crosses the line that separates the living from the dead. It is 
worth his while to learn what he can regarding the quality of 
life in the world to come, and to strive to so live here as to 
secure a condition of endless blessedness hereafter. 

Then, too, every one has relatives or friends who have passed 
into the spiritual world. And each individual must long to 
know how it fares with these dear ones in their new abode. He 
cannot help asking himself whether they are happy, or miserable, 


12 


PREFACE 


or unconscious. He wonders whether they remember him, 
and whether they will be waiting to greet him as he sets forth, 
as he must ere long, to the realm of departed souls. Many 
other questions, in some of which he must have a profound 
personal interest, will crowd upon his mind when he allows him¬ 
self to think seriously upon the subject of death and what is to 
become of him after he dies. 

In this book an effort has been made to answer these ques¬ 
tions as far as it is possible to do so. And in order that a good 
foundation might be laid for an intelligent study of the effect 
that death has upon the human being, and of the conditions of 
the life that is to follow death, we have made a careful study of 
the nature of man and the problem of his existence both here 
and hereafter. Thus equipped we have endeavored to gain all 
possible information regarding the nature of the home to which 
our departed friends have gone, and to which we are on the way, 
and of the quality of life in the unseen but very far from unreal 
realm. We have also considered the relation of the character 
that is formed here to the conditions of life hereafter, the resur¬ 
rection of the dead, the final judgment, and the great consum¬ 
mation of the kingdom of God. 

An effort has been made to find what people of all ages and 
all lands have thought upon these great subjects. The ancient 
beliefs of the Hindus and kindred faiths have been studied, as 
well as the principles of modern systems of religion, and of 
various philosophical forms of belief. The teachings of modern 
science, in its relation to these themes, have also been given. 
But in all questions concerning the future life the Bible has been 
accepted as the supreme authority. Quotations, in all cases, 
have been from the Revised Version. 

It is the earnest hope of the writer that this book will give 
courage to many who have been living in fear of death; that it 
will cause those of his readers who have been negligent in the 
past to make immediate preparation for the inevitable coming 
of the messenger that will call them from this world ; and that 
it will cheer those who mourn the departure of relatives and 
friends from earth, with the thought that wherever our loved 
ones may be, they still live, and that the same God who has 
cared for us in the past will continue to love and to watch over 
us, each and all, forevermore. 


PREFACE 


13 


ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. 

In the course of the preparation of this volume scores of 
books, some of them covering a large field; many others treat¬ 
ing only a single topic or a small group of topics; and quite a 
number relating to the subject only incidentally, have been con¬ 
sulted. Where important quotations have been made it has 
been the rule to give the name of the author and the title of 
the volume at the foot of the page. Then, too, many religious 
papers and magazines, and numerous sermons to which the 
writer has listened, have given helpful hints and suggestions. 
Many friends, also, have aided him by their kindly interest in 
the progress of the work. While the author alone is responsible 
for what the book contains, he acknowledges his obligation to 
all of these sources of information and encouragement. 

Special acknowledgments are due as follows: — 

To the Rev. Charles H. Parkhurst, D. D., LL. D., pastor of 
the Madison Square Presbyterian Church in New York city, 
and known and honored in all civilized lands as a magnificent 
leader in the cause of honest government; not only for kindly 
writing the introduction to this book, but for his encouragement 
in the class room in my younger days, and his inspiring words 
and kindly interest during the intervening years. 

To the Rev. Henry C. McCook, D. D., pastor of the Taber¬ 
nacle Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia; for his kindness 
and courtesy in various interviews and for the interest which he 
has manifested both in the writer and in his work. 

To the Rev. B. L. Agnew, D. D., many years ago my pastor 
in the North Church in Philadelphia, and now an honored 
officer of the Presbyterian Board; for the kindly and efficient 
interest which he has shown in the progress of this work. 

To the Rev. A. W, Halsey, D. D., a Secretary of the Presby¬ 
terian Board of Foreign Missions in New York city, for many 
years my pastor and friend, honored and beloved; for wise 
counsel and for unfailing interest in myself and my work. 


CONTENTS 


PACK 


Introduction. By Rev. Charles H. Parkhurst, D. D., LL. D . . i 

PART I. THE NATURE OF MAN 

CHAPTER 

I. A Complex Being. I 7 

II. The Problem of Existence.23 

III. Physical Death. 3 1 

IV. In the Article of Death. 52 

V. Different Views of Death.62 

VI. The Dead Body. 78 

VII. The Final Disposition of the Body . 85 

VIII. The Last Rites.100 


PART II. THE RELATION OF DEATH TO EXISTENCE 

IX. The Question of the Ages ... 

X. Common Belief in a Future Life.115 

XI. Leading Oriental Religions.. 

XII. The Doctrine of Christianity. 125 

XIII. The Message of Science. I2 7 


PART III. THE SPIRITUAL MAN 

XIV. The Human Soul. 

XV. The Journey and Destination of the Soul . 

XVI. Transmigration of the Soul 

PART IV. ENDLESS EXISTENCE 

XVII. Immortality of the Soul .... 

XVIII. Conditional Immortality. 

XIX. Immortality of Animals and Plants . 

PART V. THE LIFE BEYOND 

XX. Behind the Veil. 

XXI. An Intermediate Realm .... 


x 39 

*74 

196 


219 

283 

298 


3i9 

326 






XXII, 

XXIII. 

XXIV. 

XXV. 

XXVI. 

XXVII. 


XXVIII. 

XXIX. 

XXX. 

XXXI. 

XXXII. 


CONTENTS 15 

The Persistence of Conscious Life.332 

The Place of Departed Souls.356 

Entering the New Abode.382 

The Recognition of Friends.400 

The New Conditions . . 437 

Mutual Remembrance and Helpfulness . . . 447 

PART VI. THE COMING OF THE LORD 

The Resurrection of the Dead.463 

The Final Judgment.470 

The Larger Hope.478 

Retribution . . 486 

The Heavenly Home.493 

CONCLUSION 

•••••• 501 


The Great Consummation 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 


‘ * * - PAGB 

The Voyage of Life. Frontispiece 

Taj Mahal.17 

The Image of Buddha . . . * ..33 

The Tomb of Meneptah . . * . . 49 

The Tomb of Rachel.65 

Sarcophagus of Ai . . . . . ..81 

The Pyramids of Gizeh.97 

The Magnificent Earthly Home of an Assyrian King .no 

Arch of Titus and Coliseum, Rome.. . . . 113 

Chapel and Columbarium at Crematory.124 

Statue of Rameses II.129 

The Soul Revisiting the Body.145 

Temple at Madura.161 

Japanese Temple of the 33,333 Gods.177 

The Mosque of Omar. 193 

Stonehenge.209 

Osiris presiding at the Judgment of the Soul.218 

The Parthenon.225 

Church of St. John at Samaria.241 

The Village of En-dor.257 

New “Old South” Church, Boston, Mass.273 

Ruins of Temple at Phil^e.289 

Spoils of the Temple.305 

Ruins of the Basilica of Constantine.321 

Salisbury Cathedral, England.337 

Christ Church, Philadelphia, Pa.353 

Dedication of Samuel to the Lord.369 

Madonna and Child.385 

A Portrait of Christ.401 

Christ Instructing an Inquirer . 4I y 

Christ at the Tomb. 433 

Christ and Two Disciples on the Way to Emmaus.449 

The First Easter Morning.463 

Christ or Diana?.48 1 

Chimes of Victory.. 







































■ 

















































































































































TAJ MAHAL. MAUSOLEUM AT AGRA, INDIA. 






























































































































































PART I 

THE NATURE OF MAN 


CHAPTER I 

A COMPLEX BEING 

In order to reach any intelligent conclusion in regard to the 
effect of death upon the individual who comes under its power, 
it will be necessary to first consider the nature of Definition 
man. We must learn whether, as some assert, he is required - 
the creature of a day and the victim of conditions which he 
cannot control, or is, as others affirm, an immortal being with 
the power of working out a destiny for good or evil as he may 
choose. For what man will be after his earthly life has closed 
must depend upon what he is here and now. 

If man is merely material, if he is only a creature of the earth, 
having within himself no germ or potentiality of a higher exist¬ 
ence, death must, so far as consciousness and intelligence are 
concerned, end all. It will come at the close of a great series 
of changes through which the man has passed during his life, 
and will itself be the “ last great change ” of which he will ever 
have knowledge. His body will be separated into the primary 
elements of which it was composed, and the man, as a personal 
being, will be known no more forever. But if, in addition to 
the body, man has a higher, nobler, and more enduring per¬ 
sonality, if he is a spiritual as well as a material being, the 
effect of death will be widely different. The body will pass 
away in the same manner that it would if it were all that 
belonged to him, but the man himself, though under very differ¬ 
ent conditions than those which here prevail, will survive. 

From the very nature of the case the animal part of man 
must perish at death. It is equally in accordance with the 
“ constitution of things ” that if he has a nature that is ener¬ 
gized by a Divine Spirit the grave will be only a milestone in 



I 8 LIFE TRIUMPHANT 

the line of a continuous life. It is certain that the material 
man cannot long endure. The only hope that anything in the 
way of conscious existence awaits the person who has come 
under the power of death lies in the possession of a spiritual 
nature which derived its existence from God. 

In the study of this great problem regarding the nature of 
man, investigators have reached many and widely different 
Many and con- conclusions. This is due to various causes. Men 
pcting views. differ greatly as to their mental temperament, and 
facts that would appeal strongly to some would have but little 
weight with others. Some, too, have had better opportunities 
for learning the truth, or have been more careful observers than 
their fellow students, while others, it is to be feared, have been so 
anxious to sustain some preconceived theory that they have not 
been able to divest themselves of prejudice. In these and other 
somewhat similar ways it is possible to account for all the differ¬ 
ences in the conclusions to which these thinkers have arrived. 

It would neither be possible nor desirable to explain all the 
theories of the nature of man which have been held in the past, 
or which even now have more or less adherents. For the pur¬ 
pose of this book it will only be necessary to briefly state the 
principal ideas which have gained a wide degree of acceptance. 

According to the believers in the monistic theory, there is 
but one principle of being in the universe. All phenomena, of 
The monistic whatever kind or nature, are to be referred to this 
“ ultimate substance.” But just what this substance 
is, the people who hold to this general idea are not agreed. 

The materialists hold that matter is the source of phenomena, 
and that there is nothing immaterial in the universe. They 
believe that what is called the soul is only a func¬ 
tion of matter, and that when the body perishes the 
man himself passes out of existence. These men hold the doc¬ 
trine in its most radical form. Many others who range them¬ 
selves with the monists believe that there is a spirit in man, 
though they do not acknowledge the existence of a personal 
God, while still others hold that there may be some sort of a 
spirit in the universe, but deny that anything which can pro¬ 
perly be designated as spirit is found in man. Those who make 
a distinction between the body and soul define them as different 
phases of the same substance. 


THE NATURE OF MAN 


19 

The idealists, though holding their general theory in widely 
different forms, go very far in the other direction. They, too, 
assume that there is only one source of phenomena, 
but this they believe to be mental or spiritual instead 
of material. The spiritual everywhere holds sway. Matter is 
merely a form of its manifestation. As material things cannot 
form themselves, an exercise of spiritual power must precede 
their appearance. Some go so far as to claim that things can 
“ have no existence when not objects of thought.” Others, as 
described by Emerson, say “ the senses give us representations 
of things, but what are the things themselves they cannot tell.” 
The general doctrine appears to be that whatever has an exist¬ 
ence has it only in mental conception. 

A third class, who are ranged as pantheists, assert that neither 
matter nor mind is substantial. They hold that everything of 
which we have knowledge is spiritual. Their theory 

1 , . 1 • ° 1 • 1 '-i-.i J Pantheists. 

has been condensed into the single sentence, “ There 
is but one substance and that substance is God.” 

The two extremes of the monistic philosophy are represented 
on the one hand by those who believe that all being is matter, 
of which spirit is the highest form, and on the other by those 
who hold that all being is spirit, of which what is designated as 
matter is merely a phenomenal manifestation. 

Another class of people believe that man has a dual nature. 
He has a material body, but connected with it in some mysteri¬ 
ous manner is something which is described as a 

0 The dual nature• 

soul. The latter is the person, the real man, and is 
inseparable from the body during its life upon earth. By the 
great majority who hold this view of the constitution of man 
the soul is believed to survive the vast change which is wrought 
by death. 

In teaching His disciples that they should not be afraid of 
men, who can only kill the body, but at the same time warning 
them that they should fear God, who is able to destroy both soul 
and body, Christ plainly taught at least a dual nature of man. 
Besides, the whole significance of His work is to be found in 
the fact that man is something more than a mere animal. Un¬ 
less man has a soul, and that soul is immeasurably superior to 
his body, there is no conceivable reason why Christ should have 
come into the world. 


20 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


Some who hold the doctrine of the dual nature of man believe 
that the mind itself is dual. There is not merely a difference 
in the character of mental operations, but there are two distinct 
mental organizations. These are named the objective and the 
subjective mind. 1 Though it would seem to indicate the pre¬ 
sence of a third principle, this theory makes only two great ele¬ 
ments in the nature of man. His entire being is described as 
body and soul. 

There is also a widely spread belief that instead of having 
only a single or a dual organization man has a threefold nature. 
The threefold In addition to the body and the soul, which those 
noture. who hopj ^ theory of the dual nature recognize, 

many believe that man possesses a spirit. This spirit is inti¬ 
mately connected with the soul, but, curiously enough, some 
represent it as an inferior and others as a superior principle. 
Some hold that spirit is the animating force of both body and 
soul, the principle which gives life to both. Others hold that 
the soul is the seat of various desires and appetites which are 
manifested through the bodily organization, as well of a higher 
class of activities, while the term “ spirit ” should be used to 
designate only the purest and noblest qualities of the mind and 
heart. Probably all who hold the latter view regard the prin¬ 
cipal characteristics of the soul as spiritual. 

The belief that man is a complex being is of ancient origin. 
From the earliest ages of which we have any knowledge of the 
. . t , Egyptians they believed that man consisted of at 

least three essential parts. In addition to the body 
and the soul they recognized something which has been variously 
interpreted as “ the ghost, the image, the double, or the genius.” 
This, no matter by what name it was designated, was the most 
important part of the man. It was constantly with him from 
birth until death. 

A threefold nature is also recognized by various Scripture 
writers. Some commentators claim that this doctrine was not 
Appears in generally held by the ancient Jews, and that it finds 
Scripture. no rea i support in the Old Testament. Though 
soul and spirit are mentioned, as well as the body, it is claimed 
that the terms were very loosely used and that the dual theory 
generally prevailed. According to this interpretation, soul and 

1 T. J. Hudson, A Scientific Demonstration of the Future Life. 


THE NATURE OF MAN 


21 


spirit are not regarded as separate constituents of the person¬ 
ality. The man was thought of as having a spirit, just as he 
had a body, but the real being, the man himself, was a soul. 
The body and spirit were in harmony with each other, but were 
greatly inferior to the soul. 

Other writers have insisted that the Old Testament fully 
teaches the doctrine of a threefold nature of man. They assert 
that the teaching is to the effect that man has a body, in com¬ 
mon with the brute creation. This body, like the body of an 
animal, perishes at death. The vital principle, which is often 
termed life, or soul, is also possessed in common by man and 
beast. But a conviction of the immense difference between 
men and animals led to the adoption of a more complete classi¬ 
fication which would make this great dissimilarity manifest. 
Thus the term “ spirit ” came into use to designate a principle 
which is immeasurably superior to anything that is held in com¬ 
mon by men and brutes. 

Among the Greeks and Romans the doctrine of the threefold 
nature was held with varying degrees of clearness, and it ap¬ 
peared in the earliest Christian writings. But some- Modification of 
where about the fourth century the “ soul and spirit belief ‘ 
came in theological writings to be identified in substance, and 
distinguished only in function.” From that time the dual 
theory has had many advocates, though it has never won any¬ 
thing approaching unanimous acceptance. 

The dual theory, as already shown, seems to have support in 
the words of Christ, but the Apostle Paul clearly states a belief 
in three great divisions of the being of man. Yet 

, r i • & . . Christ and Paul. 

the two forms of speaking are not antagonistic. 

The teaching of Christ was always simple and direct. He did 
not employ metaphysical terms when those of ordinary conversa¬ 
tion would answer the purpose which was to be served. So, as 
the disciples were going forth to preach the Gospel, He told 
them to have no fear of men who, at most, could only kill the 
body, but to remember that God was “ able to destroy both soul 
and body.” It is evident that in the term “ soul ” He included 
all the higher powers of the man. But when the apostle speaks 
of body, soul, and spirit, he enters more into detail. Probably 
the soul was regarded as the individual life which each man has 
separate and distinct from any and every other man, while the 


22 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


spirit designated the force which God breathed into man, and 
which at death must return unto Him. Another explanation of 
the threefold theory is that the soul was regarded as a sort of 
“envelope of the spirit.” It is inside the body but outside 
of the spirit, and will serve as the body of the spirit in a future 
life. 

Still another doctrine of the human constitution is held by 
the Theosophists, or Occultists. According to their view the 
ne sevenfold threefold distinction, though less objectionable than 
division. the dual theory, is entirely inadequate. They believe 

that man consists of seven parts. Of these, four, the Kama, 
Prana, Linga Sharira, and Sthula Sharira, are perishable. The 
remaining three, Atma, Buddhi, and Manas, are immortal. The 
Manas, however, is dual while life on this earth is maintained. 
It has both a higher and a lower class of functions, and forms 
a sort of connecting link between the physical and spiritual 
natures. 

A writer 1 who is said to have received his information through 
Madam Blavatsky “ directly from the Great Lodge of Initiates,” 
has given the theosophical classification in English terms. Here 
the seven principles of man are said to be The Body, Vitality, 
Astral Body, Animal Soul, Human Soul, Spiritual Soul, and 
Spirit. The three last named are known in the Sanskrit lan¬ 
guage as the Manas, Buddhi, and Atma, and are substantially 
the same as noted in the preceding classification. Atma is 
spirit, Buddhi is the highest power of the intellect, and Manas 
is the mind. These three principles constitute the real man, 
and survive the change called death. The four lower principles 
are merely the agents or instruments of the higher ones. They 
are the means by which the man obtains a knowledge of himself 
and his surroundings. When the necessity for their use ceases, 
they become disorganized and are soon resolved into the atoms 
of which they were originally composed. 

Numerous other theories have been advanced, as well as 
various modifications of the ones which have here been de- 
Many other scribed. Some of these might be of interest, but 

beliefs. enough have been stated to show that many patient 

investigators have earnestly and diligently sought to solve the 
problem which is presented by the wonderful nature of man. 

1 A. P. Sinnett, Esoteric Buddhism. 


CHAPTER II 


THE PROBLEM OF EXISTENCE 

In each and every theory of the human constitution which has 
ever been advanced there is much that is mysterious. There 
are many things relating to man for which the ma- Al , theories in- 
terialist can offer no explanation. The body is con- uolved ln 
stantly changing. In about seven years a complete trans¬ 
formation is effected. By the time a man reaches middle life 
he has had several bodies. The material part of the man has 
been changed time and time again. Yet the man himself 
remains. If he had nothing but a material existence, the man 
himself would have been changed. He could not have remained 
the same through all the processes of construction and recon¬ 
struction which have been constantly going on, and which have 
resulted in the repeated substitution of a new body for the one 
already in use. There are various other things, such as the 
exercise of powers in somnambulism which are not active when 
man is in his normal state, which cannot be explained upon any 
theory of materialism, which will be referred to at a later stage 
of this work. 

The dual theory also presents difficulties. How the soul 
exists within and acts throughout the body is a mystery which 
the closest student has never been able to explain, and which no 
one is likely to make plain. Professor Tyndall admitted that 
“ the problem of the connection of the body and soul is as in¬ 
soluble as it was in the prescientific ages.” The mystery of the 
union will be fully solved only when the union is destroyed by 
death. Those who hold to the threefold nature of man and 
believers in the sevenfold theory are also obliged to admit that 
connected with the existence of man there are problems for 
which they have no means of obtaining a solution. 

The fact that there are mysteries connected with the being 
of man should not be thought strange. There is mystery every¬ 
where. The student of nature finds mysteries as numerous and 


24 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


as impenetrable as does the student of man. The scientist is 
Not a matter for as often compelled to acknowledge ignorance as is 
surprise. t h e theologian. The theory of gravitation, for in¬ 

stance, is admitted by scientists to “ involve paradoxes to this 
day unexplained.” For another example of mystery in the nat¬ 
ural world take that mighty but invisible agent called electricity. 
Man knows a great deal about its energy, he is able to control 
it to some extent and to make it serve his purposes, but con¬ 
nected with it are vast mysteries which baffle all his investiga¬ 
tions. 

In the vegetable world man is also in the realm of mystery. 
In the growth of a plant or a tree there are many things which 
no one can explain. How each seed has wrapped up in itself 
its own peculiar organization, and how it develops into a plant 
or a tree and brings forth fruit after its own kind and never 
after any other kind, have been common mysteries for ages, and 
will remain mysteries in spite of all the learned expositions 
which are put forth to make plain the laws of the vegetable 
world. How the plant selects from the soil just those elements 
which it needs, and in the exact proportions in which they are 
required, and rejects other elements which are not needed or 
which would be injurious, is another phenomenon of constant 
occurrence which man cannot explain. 

The list of mysteries in the natural world might be increased 
indefinitely. They are all around us. They cannot be denied, 
yet there are no means by which they can be made clear. 
There is a constant call for the exercise of faith. The man who 
will not believe anything which he cannot fully understand will 
believe but very little. He will be as much of a doubter in the 
natural world as he is in the spiritual realm. 

The mystery in which the real nature of man is enfolded 
naturally leads to a consideration of the source of his being. 
The source of This is a matter, not merely of interest, but of vital 
being. importance, in an investigation regarding his exist¬ 

ence. It becomes doubly momentous when, as in the present 
case, an effort is to be made to trace his future after his present 
life has closed. 

It is both the privilege and the duty of every man to inquire 
whence he came and by what means he has reached his pre¬ 
sent position. Vast interests are at stake. Man wants to 


THE NATURE OF MAN 


25 

know, and ought to know, whether his appearance in the world 
was an accident, and he is merely a waif upon the lmportan t 
ocean of time, to be tossed about for a brief period question - 
by wind or wave and then be lost in eternal oblivion, or whether 
he owes his existence to a Being who has made vast provisions 
for his welfare here and hereafter, and who will never leave him 
unless His care is resolutely and persistently rejected. 

Here, as elsewhere, there is a wide diversity of opinion. 
Many legends of antiquity and numerous theories of ancient 
and modern philosophers attempt to account for the 
appearance of man in the world. Not a few of the Different uieu,8 ‘ 
former are fanciful and foolish, and among the latter are some 
which, in their efforts to eliminate the idea of a Divine power 
and release mankind from what is sometimes designated as 
superstition, make far greater drafts upon faith than belief in a 
personal Creator requires. 

Long-continued efforts have been made to prove that life is, 
under certain conditions, spontaneously generated. The claim 
has been made that this theory had been proved to Life not sponta- 
be true. But later experiments, conducted with a ncous - 
greater degree of care, have resulted in utter failure. Those 
great masters of science, Professors Tyndall and Huxley, ad¬ 
mitted their inability to find life where there was no preexistent 
life from which it could be derived. The tendency of the pre¬ 
sent time is strongly away from the doctrine that proclaims 
“ mindless atoms,” without the intervention of a force outside 
and above themselves, as the origin of man. It is very gen¬ 
erally admitted that no life can be produced by lifeless matter. 
With very few exceptions the scholars of the present day recog¬ 
nize some Power, unseen and, as far as natural science can go, 
to a great extent unknown, as the source of the being of man. 
This Power the Christian knows and reveres as God. 

Of all the early histories or representations of the origin of 
man the Hebrew Scriptures furnish the one account that is 
worthy of a careful consideration. They treat the T he creation of 
subject with extreme brevity, but in a manner as man - 
clear and positive as all other accounts are vague and uncertain. 
In them we find the sublime declaration, “ God created man in 
His own image.” Here is the germ of the story of the coming 
of man into the world. Here we have the history of his origin. 


26 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


Here, too, we get a glimpse of his possible destiny. The fact 
that he was created by God, and in the very image of his Crea¬ 
tor, proves that he has a spiritual as well as a material nature, 
and is a strong indication that his existence will reach far be¬ 
yond the term of his earthly life. 

While the author of the book of Genesis is positive in regard 
to the fact that God created man, he does not clearly state the 
method by which this great work was performed, 
for a long period it was held that man was the 
result of a single creative act. According to this theory he 
was not only the crowning work of creation, but from the first 
moment of his life was perfect in form, brilliant in intellect, 
and pure in heart. 

The present condition of the race shows a terrible decline 
from this supposed original condition of man. Vast numbers 
of people are living in the savage state, and many 

Degradation. r r & ® J 

tribes are not above the rank of barbarians. Bven 
where the highest degree of civilization has been reached and 
the purest form of religion prevails, the condition of mankind is 
not to be compared with the peace and happiness of life in the 
garden which the Bible describes as their earliest home. This 
appalling change is by many attributed to a violation of a com¬ 
mand of God. According to this doctrine the fall of man from 
an original state of holiness to a state of sin accounts for all 
the dark problems of existence and is the source of all the evils 
that afflict the world. Whatever may be thought regarding the 
cause, the fact of this vast difference from a state of purity and 
peace is manifest to all. 

The great advance of science in recent times and the results 
of investigations and discoveries in the natural world have led 
to a revision of many of the earlier religious beliefs 

Later views. . J & 

Thus it has come to pass that new opinions have 
been formed regarding the means by which the work of the 
creation of man was performed. As far as the present duty of 
man is concerned, it does not matter in the least which of these 
theories is correct. But as will appear in some of the subse¬ 
quent chapters of this book, it may have a decided influence 
upon the degree of his responsibility here and, if he survives 
that event, upon his condition when he enters a different state 
of being at death. Therefore it seems desirable to note briefly 


THE NATURE OF MAN 


27 

a theory which has largely supplanted the once almost univer¬ 
sally received idea that the creation of man was the result of 
a single act of God. This theory is known as evolution. It 
was held in a vague form by the early Hindus, but it is only in 
comparatively recent years that it has been shown to have a 
scientific basis. 

According to this theory man did not receive his present 
form as the result of a single creative act. In the beginnings 
of what has since developed into man there was 
neither intellectual power, moral responsibility, nor a 
human body. The high position which he holds at the present 
day has been reached by a process of development from a very 
low stage of life, perhaps from a single cell, through a long 
series of forms and countless ages of time. Believers in this 
system are divided into several schools. These vary greatly in 
their opinions as to the details of the process, but are one in a 
belief in a general principle of evolution as opposed to that of 
a direct creation. 

In its extreme form this theory has been rejected by the great 
mass of believers in the Bible. It could not be reconciled with 
the teachings of the Scriptures, because it had no A form oppose<i 
place for God either in the creation or the preserva- t0 ScrI P ture - 
tion of the universe. The evidences presented in its behalf 
were not sufficiently convincing to lead many believers to sur¬ 
render their faith in the Word of God. The vast majority of 
reading and thinking men were not persuaded to give up all 
idea of spiritual forces and accept a purely materialistic philoso- 

phy- 

There are, however, other forms in which the theory of evolu¬ 
tion is held and which are not inconsistent with the account of 
the creation as found in the book of Genesis or in Forms in harmony 
conflict with any of the leading doctrines of the with the Bible - 
Christian religion. In one or the other of these forms it is held 
probably by the great majority of scientists and by large num¬ 
bers of Christian preachers and laymen. The former base their 
belief upon the results of investigation. The latter accept the 
theory because it appears to them “ to harmonize better with 
the general spirit of biblical teaching” than does any other 
explanation of the creative process, and also because a great 
number of able men, many of them firm believers in God, who 


28 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


Probable Inter¬ 
ventions. 


Only by devel¬ 
opment. 


have been trained in scientific methods and have made it a sub¬ 
ject of careful and long-continued study, are fully convinced that 
it is true. 

Of the Christian evolutionists some are far more radical than 
others. Many believe that while the general process of the 
creation has been one of development, or evolution, 
there have at various times been direct interventions 
of the Power which in the main has been working along a well- 
defined line of progress. They do not admit the probability, or 
perhaps the possibility, that by any course of natural laws the 
inorganic was ever changed to the organic, the vegetable ever 
became the animal, or that man has been developed from even 
the highest type of the purely animal creation. They hold that 
these great chasms must have been bridged by direct creative 
acts, each of which, in its turn, was followed by a long period of 
progress according to the natural laws of development. 

Others, who are equally reverent believers in a personal God, 
are less conservative. They “ believe that God has but one way 
of doing things; that His way may be described in 
one word as the way of growth, or development, or 
evolution.” 1 They believe in a continuous progress rather than 
in long periods of development with occasional interventions 
which interfere with its orderly course. 

This progress has continued through unnumbered ages. It 
has been exceedingly slow. There have been many partial 
retrogressions. But in the main there has been a steady ad¬ 
vance. The simplest organisms have been followed by those 
which were complex, and through the influences of environment, 
natural selection, use and disuse, and various other principles, 
the line of being has reached up to man. 

In neither of the forms in which the theory of evolution is 
held by those who are in sympathy with the Christian religion 
Glorifies Qod does ^ detract from the power or wisdom or glory 
of God as manifested in the great work of creation. 
On the contrary, it greatly exalts these attributes of the Creator. 
The belief that “ the first living germ, whenever and however 
created, was infused with power to give birth to higher species” 2 
is certainly a higher conception of God than the theory that a 

1 Rev. Lyman Abbott, D. D., The Theology of an Evolutionist. 

2 Professor John M. Tyler, The Whence and the Whither of Man. 


THE NATURE OF MAN 


29 

creative act was required for the production of each of the great 
classes of beings which have appeared upon the earth. 

There should be no antagonism between the believers in the 
old interpretation of the method of creation and the “ theistic 
evolutionist.” As to the Author of the universe A question of 
both are agreed. The question upon which they are meth0(i3 - 
divided relates only to the means which have been adopted for 
the accomplishment of His purposes. The one class believe in 
the exertion of almighty power at many different stages. Some 
even hold that it has been manifested at every great stage, in 
the work of creation. Others hold that a smoother and more 
orderly plan has been followed. The latter accept Professor 
John Fiske’s definition of evolution as “God’s way of doing 
things.” They believe in the same God as those who think the 
older theory more scriptural or more probable. The different 
views which they hold regarding the way in which God works 
does not make them less loyal as His subjects or less efficient 
workers for the advancement of His spiritual kingdom in the 
world. 

According to the theory of evolution, progress is the natural 
law of the universe. It teaches that man, in common with the 
whole creation, is on the upward path. Its doctrine 

• 1 *i rr • . . Progression. 

is that, though evil and suffering are in the world, 
things are really and constantly working for the benefit of what¬ 
ever is worthy of continued existence. 

The possibility of progress is admitted by those who hold the 
theory of degradation which has already been noted. They 
believe that the evil tendencies of man can be counteracted. In 
support of their belief in both degradation and progression, they 
point to the fact that nations which were once enlightened and 
powerful have decayed on account of their iniquities, while other 
peoples, by the acceptance of Christianity and the application of 
its principles, have been raised from a state of debasement to 
one of influence and power. 

Even here the Christian evolutionist is not widely separated 
from the most literal interpreter of the account given in the 
book of Genesis of the fall of man. Both believe that sin is in 
the world and that it is the enemy of God and man. The one 
claims that when man reached the point at which he was able 
to understand moral truth he came under the dominion of the 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


30 

moral law. The other thinks that the truth was made clear to 
man in the very beginning of his life. Both hold that man is 
responsible for his sin. Both assert that he is now endowed 
with a spiritual nature and that he is capable of either an 
unlimited improvement or a terrible degeneration. 

Whether we accept the doctrine that man was created by a 
single exertion of power, or, with the evolutionist, believe that 
he has come into the world as the result of a vast 
a creative act. num ber 0 f changes in form and capacity, we must 

confess that an intelligent and almighty Being has been con¬ 
cerned in his origin. By claiming that man has been developed 
from the lowest form of matter we only put the creative act 
farther in the background. It is utterly impossible to conceive 
of its elimination. The period of its exercise may have been 
infinitely remote, but there must have been such an act, and no 
act can commit itself. 

Concerning man, in his search for the origin of life, one of 
the greatest of scientists, Herbert Spencer, declared that “ amid 
An infinite the mysteries, which become the more mysterious 

creator. the more they are thought about, there will remain 

the one absolute certainty, that he is ever in presence of an 
Infinite and Eternal Energy, from which all things proceed.” 
The Christian evolutionist believes a great deal more than this. 
He recognizes not only the Infinite force that is behind and 
within all the phenomena of creation, but he also claims a defi¬ 
nite personal relationship with the Being from whom that energy 
proceeds. 

Whatever view may be taken of the process of the creation of 
man, the facts which relate to his condition, both in the past 
Man the chad and a t the present time, admit of no explanation that 
of G°d. leaves a Power which is at once infinite and divine out 

of the account. Whether man was created in his present form, 
or has reached the plane of humanity by innumerable changes 
through countless ages, does not in the least degree affect the 
nature of his origin. It matters not whether the relationship 
was established by a single creative act or by a process of devel¬ 
opment. In either case we have the glorious truth that man is 
the child of God. 


CHAPTER III 


PHYSICAL DEATH 

“ It is appointed unto man once to die.” Such is the declara¬ 
tion of Scripture, and the experience of the human race in all 
the ages since mankind appeared upon the earth has 

. & . , . , , . r , „ Death inevitable. 

shown the absolute truth of this tremendous affirma¬ 
tion. Death is the one thing, and the only thing, which to every 
human being is an absolute certainty. 

When a child is born no one can tell whether its life will be 
long or short, happy or miserable. As to whether the life that 
has just commenced will be a success or a failure, no one can 
speak with the slightest degree of authority. Upon these points 
the wisest man is as ignorant as is the one with the most limited 
mental powers. But the most unlearned man can assert without 
the slightest hesitation, and with the absolute certainty that his 
prediction will be fulfilled, that this new life will eventually come 
under the dominion of death. 

Here, as far as any individual case is concerned, human fore¬ 
sight ends. Mortality statistics show that of each one thousand 
children who are born, a certain proportion will die 

• • r , M r - 1 . Time and 

in infancy. I he number who will reach the various circumstances 
stages of childhood, youth, middle life, and old age unhnown ' 
can also be determined with a considerable degree of accuracy. 
But which of the individuals will fall at any specified point in 
the march of life is entirely beyond the range of human know¬ 
ledge. 

Neither can any one tell how death will make its appearance 
to any individual. It can be assumed with a considerable degree 
of certainty that of each one thousand deaths in a given locality 
a certain proportion will be caused by accident, that another 
proportion, which can be very closely estimated, will be due to 
fevers, and so on through the list of the principal diseases which 
prevail in that locality. But all this affects only the commu¬ 
nity at large. It throws no light whatever upon the fate of the 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


32 

individual. Whether death will come to him by accident, by a 
sudden and violent sickness, or as the last scene of a long and 
weary illness, cannot be foretold. 

Neither can any one tell where the individual will meet his 
great enemy, death. Whether he will be at home or abroad, in 
the street or in the office, in the shop or in the field, no one can 
know. Concerning the time and the manner and the place in 
which death will appear to any person, and the circumstances by 
which its coming will be attended, no light can be obtained. 

The one thing regarding the death of the individual that is 
certainly known is that sooner or later it will occur. As cer¬ 
tainly as night follows day death will follow birth. This fact is 
recognized by all forms of religion and all systems of philosophy. 
Attention to the laws of hygiene may, if continued through many 
generations, prolong the present average period of human life. 
It is not impossible that this period may be increased several 
years. But neither this nor any other form of effort can prevent 
the coming of death. As in the past, so in the future, this dread 
visitor will come to all men and will conquer all opposition. 

There is an Eastern tradition that a young mother whose only 
child had died carried the body to all of her neighbors, and asked 

for medicine that would restore him to health. They 

Death universal. . . J 

agreed that she must have lost her mind, for it was 
plain to see that the child was dead. At length she met a man 
who, in answer to her request, said that he could not give her 
medicine for her child, but directed her to Buddha. When she 
found this great physician, she cried, “ Lord and Master, give me 
the medicine that will cure my boy.” In reply Buddha called for 
a handful of mustard seed. In full confidence that she could 
easily procure it the mother was joyfully turning away, when 
Buddha added, “ The mustard seed must be taken from a house 
where no one has lost a child, husband, parent, or friend.” The 
mother went from one house to another, and all of the people 
sympathized with her, and offered her mustard seed, but to her 
inquiry, “ Did a son or daughter, a father or mother, die in your 
family ? ” they all answered, “ Alas ! the living are few, but the 
dead are many.” Weary and disappointed, she returned to 
Buddha, who said, “ You thought that you alone had lost a son. 
The law of death is that among all living creatures there is 
nothing that abides.” 


THE IMAGE OF BUDDHA. 


I 


































' 





THE NATURE OF MAN 


33 

Go where we will we find that this great “ law of death ” pre¬ 
vails. There is mourning everywhere for relatives and friends 
who once engaged in the activities and the enjoyments of life, 
but whose forms will be seen on earth no more. Wherever we 
turn our eyes, we see that 

“There is no flock, however watched and tended, 

But one dead lamb is there ! 

There is no fireside Kowsoe’er defended, 

But has one vacant chair.” 

And we need no prophetic voice to warn us that, like the 
myriads who have preceded us in this world, we too shall pass 
away. The law of death is universal and inexorable. Live, for 
a time, we may. Die, sooner or later, we must. 

Death is not only certain, but is also imminent. It constantly 
threatens. No age or place or position gives exemption from 
its sway or can promise security from its grasp for 

-i ry-., -i,i J i , ^ ° , Death imminent. 

an hour. I he young and the aged, those who are 
in perfect health and those whose forms are wasted by illness, 
those who apparently are exposed to but few dangers as well as 
those whose active lives are seen to be in almost constant peril, 
the rich and the poor, the occupants of high places and those 
who are regarded as the lowly ones of earth, are all constantly 
exposed to the attack of the mighty destroyer. “In the midst 
of life we are in death.” 

The ancients believed that life was a constant resistance of 
death. Modern science teaches the same doctrine. Processes 
of waste and repair in all of the organs of the body Life and death in 
and in the corpuscles of the blood are constantly con fl ict - 
going on. This continuous replacement of worn-out cells by 
new ones, which are as constantly in the course of formation 
as the others are undergoing decay, is absolutely necessary to 
the preservation of life. This change Professor Huxley de¬ 
nominates local death. In its ordinary progress it is entirely 
unnoticed; but when it occurs on a large scale, as the result of 
an accident or of illness, it may be very painful, and its results 
may be serious. It may indeed be so extensive as to cause 
the death of the entire body. But within its proper limits this 
local death is the great preserver of life. If this were to cease, 
the whole machinery of life would stop at once and forever. 

Even if we leave out of the account the great variety of acci- 
3 


34 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


dents to which man is continually exposed, and which menace 
him upon every hand, we shall still see that he is in constant 
danger from death. In order that health be continued, the equi¬ 
librium of conflicting forces in the bodily economy must be con¬ 
stantly maintained. If this is only slightly disturbed, illness will 
result. If the disturbance is serious, it must be promptly reme¬ 
died, or the destruction of the physical organism will inevitably 
occur. The body of man is so complex, and there are so many 
points at which perfect adjustment is necessary to health, that it 
is not a matter for surprise that the term of life is comparatively 
brief. Chemical forces are constantly at work to tear down the 
human frame, and vital forces are equally persistent in the work 
of repair. But any one of a great number of causes may give 
the destructive forces an advantage which the vital energies will 
not be able to overcome, and this disturbance may result in 
death. 

Doubtless every thoughtful person has often considered the 
original cause of this great change which we call death. Con- 
ne primary cause cerning the fact of death there can be no difference 
of death. 0 f opinion. Neither is there any marked disagree¬ 
ment as to the general means through which it becomes effec¬ 
tive. But concerning its primary cause, what brought it upon 
man, there are widely differing theories. 

It is not at all strange that upon this point men who believe 
in the inspiration of the Scriptures should not agree with those 
who reject the authority of revelation. But these are not the 
only classes who have different theories as to why death was 
sent, or was permitted to come, into the world. Men who accept 
as literal truth the narrative of the creation and the early history 
of man as found in the book of Genesis hold very dissimilar 
views as to the real cause of physical death. 

Probably the most common belief has been that death came 
as the direct result of the disobedience to God by our first 
The relation of parents. This idea appears in the legends of vari- 
deatht ° "*• ous ancient peoples, was presented in the Talmud 

and other Jewish literature, and has been prominent among the 
doctrines of the Christian Church from its earliest days. The 
Westminster “Shorter Catechism” teaches that by their fall 
mankind were “made liable to all the miseries of this life, to 
death itself, and to the pains of hell forever.” Practically the 


THE NATURE OF MAN 35 

same affirmation is made in the standards of doctrine of various 
other denominations. 

The basis of this belief is found in the Scriptures. Accord¬ 
ing to the narrative therein contained, the first man was forbid¬ 
den to eat of the fruit of a certain tree in the garden which 
God had provided as his home. The penalty of disobedience 
was clearly defined and emphatically stated. No more solemn 
warning could have been given than that which was contained 
in the words, “ In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt 
surely die.” But the command was violated, and man has ever 
since been subject to death. 

In the New Testament we are told that “ the wages of sin is 
death,” and that “ through one man sin entered into the world 
and death through sin.” A very large class of people who give 
such passages their literal meaning hold that the general teach¬ 
ing of the Bible is that sin and physical death stand related to 
each other as cause and effect. 

It does not appear to be certain, however, that physical death 
was threatened or that it came to man directly, if at all, as the 
result of sin. Many believe that the death which 

' Perhaps spiritual 

comes to man as the punishment of disobedience rather than phy- 
affects his spiritual rather than his physical nature. 

Instead of being, as the Westminster and certain other stand¬ 
ards of faith declare, the death of the whole man, body as well 
as soul, they would limit the penalty to the death of the higher 
nature. The body, they claim, would have perished even if sin 
had not entered the world. 

There are abundant reasons for the belief that, as far as his 
body is concerned, man was not made immortal. It does not 
appear to have been the design of the Creator that he should 
remain permanently upon the earth. Had there been no re¬ 
moval of those who came into the world, the earth would long 
ago have become so densely peopled that it could not support 
its inhabitants. This, it is true, does not necessitate death, for 
God could have taken man from his earthly home by some 
other means, but it does show that this world was not intended 
to be his perpetual residence. 

There are many who believe that physical death was a part 
of the original plan of creation. The lower animals have always 
been subject to death, and, as man is subject to the same physio- 


36 LIFE TRIUMPHANT 

logical laws and processes as the beast, there appears to be no 
reason why his life should persist if the life of the 
pan of the plan beast is to terminate. The life of man, like the life 
of the beast, commences with an organic cell. This 
cell life, as has already been explained, is subject to the action 
of the opposing forces of waste and repair, but in time the 
destructive energies will prevail, and the body, as an organ¬ 
ized mechanism, will perish. This seems as natural as it is 
inevitable. 

From this point of view death appears to be the legitimate 
effect of a law which has prevailed since life first appeared upon 
the earth. It was one of the doctrines of the Hindus that 
“ everything that is born, or brought into being, and organized, 
contains within itself the inherent necessity of dissolution.” 
Lord Bacon affirmed that “ it is as natural to die as to be born.” 
The fact that man has his periods of growth, maturity, and 
decline is an indication that his removal from the world is in 
accordance with an original and well-defined law of his being. 

Another reason why many refuse to believe that physical 
death was brought upon man as a result of his sin is the fact 
The antteipatiue that death was in the world for untold ages before 
theory. man a pp earec j # Not only did countless numbers of 

individual animals perish, but thousands of species passed out 
of existence. The theory advanced by Dr. Horace Bushnell, 
and which has found not a few advocates, that during all this 
vast period death reigned in anticipation of the sin of man, is 
more ingenious than it is convincing. It does not seem right 
that punishment should precede transgression. But this theory 
presents the additional difficulty of accounting for a vast amount 
of suffering falling upon innocent victims merely in anticipation 
of the disobedience of an entirely different class of creatures. 

It is doubtless true that “ the creation was subjected to van¬ 
ity ” on account of the sin of man, and that much of the suffer¬ 
ing in the animal world is due to the relation which exists 
between him and the lower orders. This is a dark problem, but 
it may be explained in part by the fact that the disorganized 
and often hostile condition of nature shows man something of 
the evil of sin, and is designed to be at once a means of his 
punishment and reformation. Nothing of this kind can be 
assumed regarding the destruction of animal life before the 


THE NATURE OF MAN 


37 

coming of man. That the terrible effects of sin should have 
reached backward as well as have been its present accompani¬ 
ment is hard to believe. It appears more reasonable to sup¬ 
pose that for some wise, but to us unknown, purpose the animal 
world was created subject to the law of death. 

Still another argument, and one which seems very convincing 
to many people who believe that the penalty of sin was spiritual 
rather than physical death, and that the latter is to 
be regarded as proceeding from purely natural causes, the penalty was 
is found in the fact that the disobedience of our first detayed ‘ 
parents was not immediately followed by their removal from the 
world. If physical death had been the punishment predicted, 
it should have come at the time of the sin instead of hundreds 
of years afterward. Possibly the term “ day ” may have been 
used, as it often is in the Bible, in a figurative rather than in a 
literal sense, but it seems more probable that spiritual death, 
which may have passed upon the soul in the very moment of 
its transgression, was the punishment which was to be endured 
rather than the decay of the bodily powers. 

It does not seem possible to maintain the theory that human 
sin introduced physical death into the world. Death certainly 
preceded transgression. And in the very “ constitu- 

* f O J Death natural. 

tion of things ” there appears to be an absolute ne¬ 
cessity for death. Our going out of the world is as much a 
part of the drama of life as is our coming into it. This is a 
world of change. Everything that lives has its time to die. 
Death is in harmony with the great processes of the natural 
world. There appears to be no reason why man should be 
permanent while everything around him is passing away, and 
the condition must be accepted, whether it is satisfactory or not. 
Death is, and will continue to be, as universal as life. 

The belief that physical death is natural to man, that it is a 
part of his inheritance, is not in conflict with the belief that it 
stands in a very close relationship to sin. While it may not be 
regarded as the primary cause, there is still a very large sense 
in which it is true that moral wrong 

“ Brought death into the world and all our woe.” 

For while there would have been death, or its equivalent, if man 
had remained pure, it would have been very different from the 
death with which we are now only too familiar. 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


33 

Sin did not create the necessity of the removal of man from 
the earth, but it did introduce a discordant and disorganizing 
Disobedience element into the world. If man had remained sin- 
h°t7rri^ein iat l ess > terrible accompaniments of death would 
deaih. have been unknown. There is no probability that 

departure from this life would have been attended by suffering 
or fear or disappointment. Death would have come as peace¬ 
fully as sleep, and would have been as gladly welcomed, and 
there would have been no grief on the part of the survivors. 
The removal of a member of the family would have been viewed 
as calmly and cheerfully as a household now regards a journey 
which one of the number is to make to some delightful region 
or for the purpose of visiting relatives or friends who have 
already gone from home. 

Great as is the contrast thus presented, it is but faint in com¬ 
parison with what the reality would have proved. For in all 
earthly journeys and voyages there is always a feeling of uncer¬ 
tainty as to the outcome. Accidents may occur, or sickness, or 
disappointment may come. We cannot banish anxiety for our 
dear ones, even though we may rejoice that they have the plea¬ 
sures of travel and are able to visit places and people whom they 
have long desired to see. But there would have been none of 
this uncertainty about the departure of a member of a sinless 
race from the earth. No pain would have mingled with the 
pleasure, no anxiety would have dampened the joy with which 
farewells would have been waved to the departing voyager. The 
going from earth would have been a solemn yet a joyful event. 
Doubtless it would have been regarded as merely a transition to 
a higher condition of life and wider opportunities for usefulness 
and enjoyment. There would have been no sickness and no 
funerals, and instead of wasting away at the approach of the 
change the body would have been energized by the influx of an 
immortal life. 

When we look at the conditions which would have prevailed 
if man had remained obedient and compare them with what now 
partly natural, rule In the world, we gain a great deal of light regard- 
paniy retributive. * n g t he true na t ure 0 f death. We find that while to 
a certain extent it is natural, there is much connected with it 
that is altogether out of harmony with what nature was designed 
to be. If we dwell too exclusively upon the terrors which gather 


THE NATURE OF MAN 


39 

around it, we may be inclined to say with a recent writer that 
death is “ an outrage upon nature ” and is a destructive and 
avenging element in the world . 1 In its present form it must be 
regarded as having something more than a kindly purpose of 
nature to fulfill. 

Even in its most pronounced form the theory of evolution 
does not eliminate the moral element from the nature of death. 
So far as people in civilized lands are concerned, it From the 
does not help the matter at all. It is not a ques- evolution. 
tion of how responsibility was incurred, but of responsibility 
itself. Whenever man reaches a point at which he can clearly 
distinguish right from wrong, he comes under the dominion of 
the moral law. So far as his accountability is concerned, it 
makes no difference whether this power was given at the crea¬ 
tion of the first man or whether it has been gained by a process 
of development extending over a vast period of time. The prin¬ 
ciples of evolution would account for the prevalence of death, 
and, if it came in a peaceful form, would go far toward recon¬ 
ciling man to the inevitable, but they do not account for the 
appalling circumstances of suffering and sorrow by which it 
is attended. A thoughtful mind will find it difficult, if not im¬ 
possible, to escape the conclusion that in addition to its natural 
features death has much that is disciplinary and retributive. 

Death of the body may be caused by violence or by disease, 
each of which may assume any one of a great number of forms, 
or it may occur as the result of old age. But what- 

J i i r i i Fhe Physlologl- 

ever the preliminary stages may be, the final deter- cat causes of 
mining cause is to be found in the failure of the 
heart, the lungs, or the brain. Any prolonged interruption of 
the circulation, of the respiration, or of the innervating influence 
of the brain will prove destructive to life. 

When the heart is fatally injured by accident or weakened by 
disease, it becomes unable to force the blood through the body 
or even to send a sufficient quantity to the brain. ^ 

The brain, not receiving the needed impulse from 
the blood, fails to act. Consequently all the organs that in 
health receive nervous force from this great centre cease to per¬ 
form their functions, muscular action is suspended, respiration 
ceases, and all the powers of the body fail. 

1 Lewis F. Stearns, Present Day Theology. 


40 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


In fatal affections of the lungs death may be due to mechan¬ 
ical or to chemical causes. If by a diseased condition of the 
organs themselves, or by external means, air is pre¬ 
vented from entering the lungs, the process of purifi¬ 
cation of the blood, which it is their office to perform, is checked. 
The poisonous matter in the blood acts upon and destroys the 
power of the nervous centres. Consequently the vital fluid can 
no longer be sent to the heart and death occurs at once. When 
the cause is chemical rather than mechanical, as in cases of 
asphyxia from breathing illuminating gas or the fumes of burn¬ 
ing charcoal, air reaches the lungs, and is respired, but it does 
not contain a sufficient quantity of oxygen to purify the blood. 
There is a gradual change in the color of the blood from red to 
blue. Insensibility follows, but breathing is continued until the 
accumulation of poison in the veins and arteries causes the ner¬ 
vous impulse of the brain to cease. 

When the brain is the organ primarily affected, either by dis¬ 
ease, by accident, or by narcotic poisoning, the citadel is lost 
because the sentinel falls asleep. The muscles do 

The brain. ... . . . . 

not receive their accustomed energizing influence 
from that organ, and are thus rendered incapable of action. 
This makes respiration impossible, and the heart, receiving 
neither the proper stimulus nor a sufficient quantity of blood to 
keep it in action, ceases to beat. 

Death from old age is merely the wearing out of the physical 
system. There is no disease and no accident. Everything is 
oidae perfectly natural, just as it should be and was de¬ 

signed to be. In such a case the body is like a 
clock that has ceased to mark the time, not because of any 
external injury, but simply and only because it is worn out. 
But such instances are very rare. Even when the period of 
extreme old age is reached, there is usually something more than 
the mere failure of the vital powers. Almost invariably there is 
some derangement, in many cases very slight, of one or more of 
the vital organs, and this lack of complete adjustment hastens 
the end. When it appears simply as a failure of the powers, 
death comes as painlessly and unconsciously as sleep. The 
general vitality is gradually impaired, sensibility is diminished, 
and the impulse of the brain is weakened to such an extent that 
if for merely an instant there is a cessation of either the circula- 


THE NATURE OF MAN 


41 

tion, respiration, or innervation, the enfeebled powers are not 
able to resume their action and “ the sleep that knows no wak¬ 
ing ” begins. 

Innumerable efforts have been made to find some means by 
which death could either be prevented or else indefinitely post¬ 
poned. Dreamers have searched for the fabled foun- The postponement 
tain of perpetual youth, and scholars have made °f death • 
careful and prolonged investigations in hope of discovering or 
inventing methods of greatly extending the period of human 
life. The former have added much to the pathos and the 
romance of history. The latter have shown that obedience to 
the laws of health will prevent many deaths in early and middle 
periods of existence, but they have not been able to prove that 
what is generally accepted as the natural term of human life can 
be greatly prolonged. 

The fact that during the last two centuries the death rate has 
been very greatly diminished has led many to suppose that 
either a greater degree of vitality had been devel- The death rate 
oped or that man had found some means of keeping diminished - 
his destroyer at bay for a longer period than his predecessors 
were able to do. But a careful examination of the subject 
seems to show that the improvement which statistics indicate 
has not been in the nature of a general advance, but has been 
almost wholly confined to the period between birth and thirty- 
five years of age. The truth appears to be that our increased 
knowledge and improved methods enable multitudes of people 
whose vitality is low, and whose constitutions are weak, to live 
for twenty or thirty years who under the conditions which pre¬ 
vailed in early times would have died in infancy. With people 
who have reached middle life the case is different They have 
far more comforts than their predecessors enjoyed, and life is 
now protected at many points that were formerly exposed. But 
to a great extent these gains are counteracted by our extreme 
restlessness and the incessant activity required by our modern 
civilization. 

Numerous students, including some men who were eminent 
physicians, have formulated rules obedience to which, it was 
claimed, would give those who did not die by acci- Methods of 
dent a reasonable certainty of reaching old age. P ro,on ^ n f e - 
Many of these rules were wise and, so far as human wisdom 
3 * 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


42 

could discern, were well calculated to secure the purpose desired. 
Yet, as if to show how powerless man is in the presence of 
death, some who developed these systems of prolonging earthly 
existence themselves died in middle life and from ordinary dis¬ 
eases. 

Those who have sought to ward off death by the use of nat¬ 
ural substances or artificial preparations have met with an equal 
share of disappointment. Perhaps the most remarkable instance 
of this kind in recent years was that of Dr. Brown-S£quard. 
This eminent French physician announced that he had discov¬ 
ered the method of preparing an elixir that would not only 
enable man to maintain the full vigor of life for an indefinite 
period, but would also renew the youth of the aged. For a 
short time his claim seemed to be well founded. Wonderful 
cases of the restoration of health and strength to people who 
were advanced in years were reported. But ere long it became 
evident that the good results obtained by the use of these prepara¬ 
tions were only temporary, and in many instances the physical 
improvement was quickly followed by a serious impairment of 
the mental powers. 

The failure of the efforts of this noted practitioner, and of 
those of his numerous predecessors, did not check investigation 
Recent investiga- along the lines which they had followed. As in the 
ti°ns. past, so in the present, men are seeking to prolong 

the span of life, and some, at least, are not discouraged by the 
failures which have attended previous efforts. Since work on 
this book was commenced, an announcement has been made to 
the effect that Dr. C. A. Stephens, a noted American scientist, 
who for several years has been making a special study of the 
causes of death, has expressed the opinion that people do not 
live nearly as long as they can. They have been educated to 
believe that threescore and ten years is the practical limit of 
life. Most of those who live to nearly this age yield to the idea 
that their days are numbered, and, largely as a result of this 
belief, do not long survive. They die, not because they actually 
have come to the end of the term of life upon the earth, but 
because they imagine that such is the case, and so give up all 
effort to live. It is reported that Dr. Stephens claims that a 
great deal of knowledge upon this subject has already been 
obtained, and that he is “ confident that the progress of brain 


THE NATURE OF MAN 


43 

science will enable mankind successfully to overcome decay and 
its climax, death.” 

Theories like the above are interesting, but it does not seem 
possible that they will prove of any practical benefit. Physi¬ 
ology teaches that disintegrating forces are con- Physiolog i Cal 
stantly in operation, which, if life is not arrested by ,aws ‘ 
some other cause, will sooner or later destroy the bodily organ¬ 
ism. No power can prevent the growth of the seeds of decay 
and death which the system carries within itself. To some 
extent accidents, and certain other dangers from outside sources, 
can be avoided, but the foe that is within the body cannot be 
expelled. 

Like that of any other machine, the term of usefulness of the 
human system is limited. It is as impossible for the body to 
make itself new after this limit has been reached as it is for a 
worn-out engine to put itself into working condition. “ The 
mill cannot grind with the water that has passed.” No more 
can age be infused with the vigor and energy of youth. 

Old age is inevitably accompanied by a waning of the bodily 
powers. To some men the enfeeblement of age comes earlier 
than it does to others, and the rapidity of the decline varies with 
different people. But there are no exceptions to the rule that 
infirmity is inseparably connected with advanced age. 

Though some individuals feel the depressing effects of ad¬ 
vancing years much more quickly than do others who inherited 
stronger constitutions, or whose surroundings have when the period 
been more favorable to health, there is a point at of old age begin9 - 
which the average man may be said to join the ranks of the 
aged. Richerand, a famous French physiologist, states that 
the “ climacterical period of sixty-three is the decided and 
confirmed period of old age.” It is true that if no accident 
occurs, and no serious illness comes, life may be prolonged for 
many years, but from this delimiting point of old age there will 
be a gradual but inevitable decline of the physical powers. 

After the period of old age is reached, various physiological 
changes occur. The arteries gradually become hard and un- 
vieldins:. This in time causes a marked obstruction „ 

J ° . Great changes. 

to the circulation of the blood, l he muscles of the 
respiratory organs suffer a diminution of strength and elasticity. 
This still further retards the circulation of the blood, and, what 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


; 44 

is perhaps of still more serious import, prevents its thorough 
purification. The digestion is greatly impaired, and the absorb¬ 
ent vessels become comparatively inactive. As a consequence 
the system is imperfectly nourished, and there is a serious weak- 
; ening of the action of the heart. Accompanying these changes, 
• there is a contraction and hardening of the substance of the 
brain and nervous system, which diminishes the power of inner¬ 
vation. Thus all the forces of the system decline until, if no 
physical or mental disturbance occurs to hasten the end, the 
vital energies are exhausted, and the life of the body comes to 
a close. 

Neither power nor skill of man can enable him to maintain 
his earthly life for more than a very limited period. To the 
great majority of people this possible extent of life 

Hastening death. & J i f t CL ^ l 

seems far too short In many ways efforts are made 
to prolong it When sickness comes, neither care nor expense 
is withheld in an effort to avoid a fatal termination. The sav¬ 
ings of years are expended in the effort to keep death at bay. 
That, so far as the final outcome is concerned, the struggle is 
hopeless, is known to all, but it is the almost universal sentiment 
of mankind that the day of defeat must be put off as long as 
possible. 

Yet notwithstanding this general love of life and fear of 
death, and the efforts that are made to prolong the period of 
the earthly existence, there are great numbers of men who 
hasten the time of their exit from the world. Vast multitudes 
do this, indirectly, it is true, but none the less certainly, by a 
violation of the laws of health. Many are ignorant of hygienic 
principles, and others are so enslaved by their circumstances and 
surroundings that they cannot comply with what they know to 
be the conditions of health. Still others are the victims of care 
and anxiety which rapidly wear away their vital powers. Those 
who yield to their appetites and passions surely, and in a far 
more direct and forcible manner than any of the other classes 
named, hasten the approach of death. Thus in many ways 
which are indirect but efficient, men are constantly shortening 
what should be the natural period of the earthly life. 

Then there are many persons, though but few in proportion 
to the total population, who regard death as less terrible than 
life and who deliberately and forcibly end their earthly careers. 


THE NATURE OF MAN 


45 

The number of suicides in the world each year is said to be not 
less than one hundred and eighty thousand. Dur¬ 
ing the year 1897 six thousand six hundred persons 
in the United States took their own lives. Among this number 
were many professional people as well as business men and 
workers in various industrial lines. All parts of the country 
were represented. The hardships and discouragements of life 
and dissatisfaction with the prevailing conditions appeared to 
be as great in the sparsely settled localities as they did in the 
large cities, and to suggest the same desperate course as the 
only available means of relief. 

There have been men of ability and influence who have sanc¬ 
tioned suicide as a legitimate means of escaping the troubles of 
life. There are also certain forms of philosophy 

J Has not in- 

which, while not giving it their approval, hold that variably been 
it is not a violation of any moral law. They class it c °” emne ' 
as a supremely foolish rather than as a criminal action. 

The Buddhist, for example, claims that if duties toward others 
are not neglected man has a right to take his own life. But he 
adds the statement that if the thread of life is thus broken it 
will “ be knotted again, and generally under more unfavorable 
conditions ” than those from which the suicide attempts to 
escape. 1 He also asserts that the consequences of an evil deed 
cannot be avoided by fleeing from life. Justice is both powerful 
and eternal, and the wrong-doer cannot possibly escape the 
punishment which he deserves. 

There is also a doctrine, which is held in common by many 
who upon various related subjects have widely different views, 
that suicide does not enable man to escape the dis¬ 
cipline through which it was designed that he should remedy for the 
pass in this world. Miss Lillian Whiting has ex- ll,sofl,fe ‘ 
pressed this idea as follows: “ There is a certain fulfillment, — 
call it human destiny, — what one will, — that every human 
being must work out for himself. His powers of mind and body 
and his circumstances together constitute his tools, his means 
of fulfilling this destiny. This work must be done, some time, 
somewhere. The future steps in progress cannot be taken until 
those that lie between are taken.” This is something which 
those who, because they are discouraged by their troubles and 

1 Subhadra Bhikshu, A Buddhist Catechism. 


46 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


are weary of life, want to “ die and get out of it all,” should care¬ 
fully ponder. Suicide cannot free the soul from itself, from its 
moral obligations, nor from the government of God. It is the 
worst possible means by which to attempt to secure rest and 
peace. 

In some States the civil law regards suicide as a crime, and, 
if it is discovered, an unsuccessful attempt to take one’s life is 
severely punished. This law not only has moral 
grounds for its support, but is also in harmony with 
the interests of society. It is for the public good, no less than 
for the benefit of individuals, that this restraint should be 
imposed upon those who desire to get out of the world before 
their time. 

The Christian religion looks upon suicide as one of the 
highest of crimes. It is held to be not only a direct violation 
prohibited by of the sixth commandment, but also to be wholly 
religion. opposed to the letter and the spirit of the New 

Testament writings, which place great emphasis on the sacred¬ 
ness of human life and upon the duty which every man owes to 
his fellow creatures. 

While the plea is often made in behalf of those who take 
their own lives that poverty, disappointment, disgrace, or illness 
which no medical skill can cure are “ extenuating circum¬ 
stances,” it does not seem possible to justify this desperate effort 
to obtain relief. The man who, while in the full possession of 
his reason, destroys his life must be considered guilty of a great 
sin. His duty to God requires him to stay in the world until 
he is removed therefrom by natural causes. 

Then, too, the claims of relatives and friends, and even of 
casual acquaintances cannot be rightfully ignored. No man 
can entirely separate his own interests from the interests of those 
around him. The Apostle Paul affirms that “ none of us liveth 
to himself, and none dieth to himself.” The effects of the life 
and of the death of even the humblest individual reach far 
beyond the field of his own limited observation, and may have 
a much more powerful and enduring influence than he ever 
dreamed. 

There is also an element of cowardice in suicide. To rush 
away from the world in hope of escaping his own troubles and, 
by that very means, leave a heritage of sorrow and shame to 


THE NATURE OF MAN 47 

his family, is very far from being an act of courage. The man 
who has the clear moral light of the present day, and 

, . r y * J . . Not courageous. 

yet throws away the gift of life and the opportunities 
for usefulness which to some extent are given to even the most 
humble and the most unfortunate, seems to merit the description 
of Socrates, who pronounced the suicide a deserter from society. 

It is true that there is an appalling amount of misery in the 
world. Into most lives that are prolonged to the period of 
middle age there comes much of sorrow and disap- ne troubles 
pointment. “ The heart knoweth its own bitterness.” oftife • 

There is no escape from trouble, and some lives seem to be an 
almost unbroken line of disasters. It is not strange that the 
load seems heavy and that sometimes even the stoutest heart 
should quail. Even the majestic Prophet Elijah, whose heroism 
and fortitude have hardly been surpassed in the history of the 
world, once fled into the wilderness and desired to die. But his 
faith soon revived, and he went forth to do valiant service for 
God. So every man in the hours of darkness and disaster 
should find comfort in the thought that all things are under the 
control of One who is wise and beneficent, and that the ills of 
the present may be made the means of great good in the future. 
Instead of wishing to desert the field, let him say as did the 
Patriarch Job, when undergoing the most terrible and inexplica¬ 
ble trials, — 

“ All the days of my warfare would I wait, 

Till my release should come.” 

In the vast majority of cases in which death appears to have 
occurred there is no reason to doubt that the vital action of the 
body has permanently ceased. The evidence is too 

J \ . . J . 1 . Apparent death. 

direct and convincing to be questioned. 1 he ordi¬ 
nary appearance of the body after death is too well known to 
need description. The circumstances which attend the closing 
moments of life are so marked, and the change which comes 
over the body is so great, that no one who possesses and uses 
the ordinary powers of observation will be deceived. 

Yet it should be universally known that there are exceptions 
to this rule. Numerous cases are on record in which persons 
who were supposed to be dead have revived, and suspended 
some have recovered their health and lived for many anlmation - 
years. What seemed to the observers to be death was really 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


48 

suspended animation. In some instances only the body was 
affected in this strange manner. The mind was clear during all 
the period of bodily insensibility; and though all control of the 
muscular system was lost, the sense of hearing was not impaired, 
and the person who was regarded by others as dead fully under¬ 
stood the conversation of the attendants, and was well informed 
as to the plans for his funeral and burial. 

There is no doubt that in some instances of suspended ani¬ 
mation death has resulted from packing the body in ice, embalm¬ 
ing, or premature burial. These cases have not been as common 
in quite recent times as they were at an earlier period, and it is 
probable that the number has always been greatly exaggerated. 
Among people as intelligent as are those who live in civilized 
lands at the present day such “ accidents ” are not likely to 
occur. But when the terrible results of a mistake of this kind 
are considered, the necessity of using the most efficient means 
to prevent its occurrence becomes apparent. 

One of the features of a great international exposition which 
is soon to be held in Italy is an elaborate investigation, by mem¬ 
bers of the medical department, of the subject of 

A public inauiru. 1 J 

“ Apparent Death and Premature Burial.” It is 
said that an effort will be made to cause the enactment of laws 
regarding the length of time that a body which is supposed to 
be dead shall be kept before burial is permitted. While well- 
informed people will neither require nor approve such restric¬ 
tions, there may be localities in which legal safeguards against 
premature burial are necessary. 

There are certain forms of disease in which the ordinary ap¬ 
pearances of death are not as conclusive as they are in others. 
precautions to The body may seem to be dead, and yet a spark 
betaken. 0 f pf e ma y rema i n# j n some cases, also, of what 

seem to be sudden death there may remain a feeble current of 
life. Wherever there is the slightest reason to hope that the 
vital forces are not entirely destroyed, the most careful tests 
should be made before the body is buried, or is so treated by 
the undertaker as to destroy any possibility of resuscitation 
which may exist. 

In all doubtful cases a physician should be consulted. This 
to determine the facts and also to make proper efforts to secure 
reanimation if the case does not appear to be entirely hopeless. 


THE TOMB OF MENEPTAH 



4 


liiii 




kg|g 




8L»# 


WSm 


Wwf 



i 
































































































































































THE NATURE OF MAN 


49 

Among the methods of determining whether death has really- 
occurred, that of hypodermic injections of ammonia is often 
adopted. It is claimed by some that this treatment will have 
no perceptible effect upon a dead body, but will cause a red 
blush upon the skin if life is not entirely extinct. A later method 
is the injection, into the tissues of the body, of fluorescein. The 
efficiency of the method last named is said to be due to the fact 
that wherever life remains there will be a circulation of the 
blood. In cases of suspended animation or of extreme exhaus¬ 
tion, the movement may be too feeble to be detected by any 
ordinary methods, but will surely be revealed by the application 
of this test. If there is no life the substance will remain at the 
precise point at which it was injected. But the slightest degree 
of circulation will cause a sufficient diffusion of the bright-colored 
material to show that the motion of the vital fluid has not entirely 
ceased. 

When these or similar tests cannot be made, and there is the 
slightest reason for supposing that death is apparent rather than 
real, the body should be kept until life returns or the operations 
of nature show that life has departed. When the skin of the 
abdomen takes on a green tint, and there is a slight separation 
of the cuticle from the tissues underneath, there can be no doubt 
that life is extinct. 

If suitable precautions are taken there will be no possibility 
of premature burial. Most of the reported cases of such burials 
in recent times have doubtless had their source in Prema ture bunats 
superstitious fear, in a disordered imagination caused in f re ^ uent 
by overwrought nerves, in a want of knowledge regarding the 
possible movement of the body after death has occurred, or in a 
desire on the part of the narrator to furnish something startling 
to his hearers or readers. The formation of gases in the dead 
body will sometimes cause it to change its position after burial. 
The reports of such instances have led to the fear that the per¬ 
sons supposed to have been dead became conscious after they 
were placed in the grave. Such evidence has but little weight 
with those who have investigated the subject, and who are the 
best qualified to judge. If reasonable precautions were taken 
there need be no fear, in any case of this kind, that the burial 
was premature. 

Allusion has been made to the fact that the world is too small 
4 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


50 

to furnish a permanent home for mankind. If death or some 
Death necessary equivalent thereto had not intervened, the number 
to progress. 0 f p e0 pl e which the earth could sustain would have 
been reached in a comparatively short time. Then all progress 
would have ceased and achievement would have been at an end. 
Everywhere there would have been stagnation and decay. 

Under present conditions growth and development are active 
and potent factors in the condition of the race. One genera¬ 
tion utilizes the inventions, the discoveries, and to a great extent 
the experience of those by which it has been preceded. Each 
contributes to the common fund for the benefit of posterity. 
Thus humanity is constantly rising to a higher plane and at¬ 
taining a more complete control of its rapidly unfolding powers. 
The conservatism natural to and perhaps inseparable from age 
acts as a constant and beneficent check to the excessive confi¬ 
dence of youth, while the mingled energy and caution of those 
in middle life tends to harmonize the efforts of all. Thus along 
all lines of effort progress is being made, and this progress is 
promoted by death. But for death all the people in the world 
would soon be old. Age would bring wisdom, it is true, but it 
would incapacitate men for the planning and the execution of 
great enterprises which younger and more vigorous men could 
prosecute with success. The passing away of the individual is 
for the benefit of the race. 

This principle holds true throughout the world. Everywhere 
it is death that opens the way for progress. It is death that 
gives the opportunity for new and more abundant life. Plants 
feed upon elements which were once parts of other vegetation. 
These plants may be utilized by animals which, in their turn, 
are sacrificed to sustain the lives of men. All living things 
draw part of their sustenance from something that has previ¬ 
ously lived and perished. “ There is nothing grows except a 
death occurs.” 

Death presents itself in many aspects and awakens various 
and conflicting emotions in the human mind. With much that 
A boundless is terrible it combines not a little that is kindly. It 

empire. i s su bii me in its might and magnificent in its domain. 

It is absolutely inexorable. Its prey can by no possibility elude 
pursuit or escape with life. Its empire is universal. No lofty 
peak, no secluded valley, no mountain cave, no desert waste, can 


THE NATURE OF MAN 


51 

offer a hiding-place from death. Wherever he goes, whatever 
he does, man is always followed by the great archer who never 
misses his mark. There is no other reign so despotic. There 
is no other empire so boundless. No exaggeration, no poetic 
license, nothing but the hard and solemn truth, is to be found 
in the splendid tribute to death from which the following ex¬ 
tracts are taken: — 

“ Spirit with the drooping wing 
And the ever-weeping eye, 

Thou of all earth’s kings art king; 

Empires at thy footstool lie. 

“ What’s the grandeur of the earth 
To the grandeur round thy throne ? 

Riches, glory, beauty, birth, 

To thy kingdom all have gone. 


“ Earth has hosts, but thou canst show 
Many a million for her one ; 

Through thy gates the mortal flow 
Hath for countless years rolled on.” 1 

Whatever may be his attitude toward earthly governments, 
and human rulers who claim obedience to their laws, each man 
must own his allegiance to death. Every day some ninety 
thousand human beings fall beneath its stroke. There is no 
escape in the present. The future offers no hope. Death will 
maintain its empire until the closing day in the history of the 
world. 

1 George Croly, The Empire of Death, 



CHAPTER IV 


IN THE ARTICLE OF DEATH 

Man reaches the supreme moment of his earthly career in 
the article of death. No other moment is invested with such 
awful solemnity as is that in which he departs from 
a solemn moment ^ j n no 0 th er moment is the soul so 

thronged with emotions. Probably there is no other time in 
which it is so prophetic and so expectant. 

Doubtless the full significance of what is taking place in the 
article of death is far beyond the comprehension of the finite 
mind. But both the dying and those who are gathered around 
him realize that a tremendous crisis is at hand. From the 
earthly vision of the departing one the sunlight fades forever, 
and the cloud which has followed him from the moment of his 
birth envelops him as a shroud. His little bark is just floating 
out on the vast ocean of eternity. For him the clock of life 
marks its last moment of time. All that pertains to the present 
world passes away, and upon the earthly side of the great drama 
of life the curtain for the last time falls. 

In the article of death man comes into the actual and imme¬ 
diate presence of the profound mystery which has faced him all 
a profound his life, and which every passing moment has been 

mystery. bringing nearer to his experience. The boundary 

line of all that pertains to the things of time has been reached. 
The soul realizes, as never before, that 

“ There is a stream, whose narrow tide 
The known and unknown worlds divide, 

Where all must go.” 

The bank of this stream has been reached. Upon the one side 
there is knowledge and experience. Upon the other there is 
mystery and uncertainty. 

It is true that during all of his life man has been surrounded 
by the mysterious and the unknown. He has been baffled at 


THE NATURE OF MAN 


53 

numberless points at which he has attempted to supplant igno¬ 
rance with knowledge. But with all this lack of information 
regarding so many matters of interest there has been a great 
deal that was clearly comprehended and concerning which his 
confidence was unshaken. He had sufficient knowledge to 
enable him to carry on the work of life and to obtain no small 
amount of enjoyment. The doubts by which he has been dis¬ 
turbed, and the mysteries by which he has been perplexed, have 
not been of such a nature as to affect seriously the interests of 
his earthly existence. 

In the article of death all this is changed. The man is going 
away from what is known. The old landmarks disappear. In¬ 
stead of remaining an outer region, lying upon the border of 
the world in which he has lived and moved, the mysterious 
realm is a present reality. He is leaving the familiar scenes of 
earth and entering the mysterious realm of the beyond. He is 
passing “ into that which is within the veil.’ , 

As our friends go through this final experience of earth, we 
look with longing eyes in hope that we may catch a glimpse of 
the land that lies beyond, but we always look in vain. Not till 
we stand upon the dividing line, not till we come to the article 
of death, will our vision be sufficiently keen to disclose to us 
aught of the mystery which with its now impenetrable folds 
covers the border land of death. 

Perhaps more appalling than the solemnity or the mystery 
which gathers around the closing of an earthly career is the 
complete isolation of the dying one from all that T he solitude of 
pertains to earth. Friends who would willingly lay death - 
down their lives for his sake may stand around his bed, and do 
all that human love and human strength can do, but in this 
great moment of destiny their aid cannot avail. As far as all 
that is human is concerned, he must “ tread the winepress alone.” 

Woe to the man who comes to this last moment of his earthly 
life with no vital faith concerning the things which lie beyond! 
The consolations of religion are too often regarded with indiffer¬ 
ence in the days of health, but in the article of death they are 
as a strong anchor to a ship in a mighty sea. They cheer and 
sustain in the otherwise lonely conflict. Unless he has a guard 
from the invisible world, the departing one is as solitary in death 
as though he were the only being in the universe. 


54 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


So far as earthly hopes and plans are concerned, the article of 
death is the moment of doom. Up to this point in the progress 
The ruin of of a dangerous disease there is a possibility, very 
earthly plans. £ a j n t j n man y ca ses, but still admitting hope, that the 
execution of the sentence which apparently has been issued may 
be delayed. Medical aid may prolong the life for a little period. 
Nature, which sometimes shows a wonderful degree of tenacity, 
may make another rally against the foe. But in the article of 
death the last hope is blotted out. The forces which have been 
fighting for a continuance of life make an unconditional sur¬ 
render. The flag is hauled down. The conqueror takes full 
possession. As far as the physical man is concerned, the ruin 
is complete. 

In the article of death all ranks are leveled, all earthly dis¬ 
tinctions are effaced. The ruler is as helpless as is his weakest 
ah distinctions subject. The defeat of the master is as complete as 
obliterated. ; s 0 £ £k e servan £ # The w j se an d the ignorant 

surrender upon the same terms. Well do the Orientals say 
that when the body has turned to ashes in the earth no differ¬ 
ence can be distinguished between 

“ The richest sultan and the poorest slave.” 


The man who has cherished the feeling that on account of his 
birth, education, wealth, or any other real or supposed advan¬ 
tage, he was superior to the ordinary type of humanity, finds 
that death has no respect for matters of this description. All 
classes, all conditions, are brought to a common level in the 
final moment of the earthly life. 

In the article of death man is separated from friends and 
home. He is leaving those who are dear unto him and to whom 
he is dear. All earthly ties are sundered. The 

A long farewell. , J . , 

home life ceases, the home itself is left behind. “ I 
cling to my home,” said one who was unspeakably dear to me, 
as he was going into the valley. Day and night those words 
pass through my mind. Inexpressibly sad they are, but they 
voice the common sentiment of mankind. 

To thoughtful people there is always something of sadness 
connected with the leaving of home. Even where a great deal 
of pleasure is expected, and a return at a period not far distant 

is looked forward to, there is always a certain feeling of regret. 

The shadow may be slight, but it is sure to fall. Even the hum- 


THE NATURE OF MAN 


55 

blest home has its attractions, and regret that it must be left 
forever is a universal sentiment in the article of death. 

The last point in the earthly life must be a supremely expect¬ 
ant moment. As a traveler who has been long shut within a 
narrow valley nears the summit of a mountain peak, An expectan t 
wonders what scenes will open to his vision as he moment 
reaches the top, so the mind of one who is almost to the line at 
which the hitherto unknown world is to come into view must 
be in a solemnly expectant attitude. There will be an eager 
desire to know what is to be the outcome of this great experi¬ 
ence through which he is passing. 

No man can be indifferent regarding what awaits him as he 
crosses the threshold of death. And knowing, as all men do, 
that this supreme moment must come, it is strange that no more 
thought is given to a consideration of the probabilities of the 
conditions which will prevail when the earthly life comes to 
a close. It is, indeed, remarkable that while in health and 
strength men do not have more curiosity, using this word in its 
highest sense, in respect to what awaits them in the article of 
death. The solemn inquiry which will surely be made should 
not be neglected until the instant of departure from the world. 

One able writer 1 upon the being and destiny of man, who 
several years ago passed beyond the bounds of earth, brought 
out this idea very forcibly by suggesting that if all the people in 
the world were notified that another planet had been prepared 
for them, and that within a certain specified period they must 
all depart from their earthly abodes, there would at first be a 
feeling of the greatest consternation. But when once “the 
mighty emigrating column was formed and put in motion, fear 
would give way in part to curiosity,” and people would eagerly 
ask each other’s opinion regarding the situation of the new 
world and how it compared in appearance and comfort with the 
one upon which they had thus far had their home. While no 
order of this kind is to be issued, and the future abode of man 
is not supposed to be another planet, it is true that at some 
moment, to him unknown, each individual must leave this world 
and enter some place or state concerning the location and con¬ 
ditions of which he is almost entirely ignorant. From such an 
ordeal there is a natural shrinking of the soul. Yet it is prob- 

1 Dr. J. R. Nichols, Whence, What , Where ? 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


56 

ably true that “ the feeling of fear which pervades the mind in 
contemplating the great change often becomes subordinate to 
curiosity,” and many questions arise as to what the immediate 
future has in store for him who is on the border line of the vast 
unknown. 

At the near approach of “ the terminal act of life ” there is a 
great change in the appearance and condition of the body, and 
this change progresses until the end of the earthly 
physical changes, ex j S £ ence j g reac hed. The action of the heart be¬ 
comes so feeble that the blood cannot be forced to the extremi¬ 
ties and the hands and feet grow cold. The powers of percep¬ 
tion rapidly wane. The sight fails, the organs of taste and 
smell cease to act, the power of hearing is lost, and, last of all, 
the sense of touch is destroyed. Life may depart with a sigh, a 
groan, or a gasp; or the dying one may appear to be merely 
falling asleep. Not infrequently there are convulsive move¬ 
ments, which to the minds of the beholders indicate great suffer¬ 
ing. 

Science has proved beyond all question that the appearances 
of physical pain in the article of death are entirely misleading. 
The agony of The muscular movements are automatic, and the 

death. sensibility of the brain has become too greatly im¬ 

paired to receive impressions of any kind. Consequently no 
pain can be experienced. 

When death approaches gradually the quantity of oxygen 
supplied to the lungs is steadily diminished. This renders them 
less and less efficient in their efforts to purify the blood, which 
consequently becomes heavily charged with carbon dioxide. 
While this is a virulent poison, it also acts as a powerful anaes¬ 
thetic. Painful as they seem to be, the physiologist finds in the 
convulsive struggles which sometimes accompany dissolution 
“ conclusive proof that the dying man is already narcotized be¬ 
yond pain .” 1 It is comforting to know that the often used term, 
“ the agony of death,” has reference to an apparent and not to a 
real condition. However great the previous suffering may have 
been, it passes away before the final stage of life is reached. 
There is abundant evidence that, so far as the physical nature is 
concerned, passing through the gate of death is as painless as 
falling asleep. 

1 M. P. Hatfield, M. D., Physiology and Hygiene . 


the nature of man 


57 

In cases of sudden death by accident or violence, there is an 
entire absence of pain. The shock to the system is so great 
that death occurs before sensation has time to recover its action. 

The man who dies in this manner leaves the world without the 
slightest idea of the cause which has closed his earthly career. 

Great as is the interest which we feel in the physical nature, it 
is not with the body alone, or chiefly, that we are concerned in 
the hour and the article of death. We have seen The mental state 
how the bodily powers decline and life departs from at death • 
the physical frame. We have traced the course of the decay of 
the tabernacle in which for a time he has dwelt, but this, it is 
firmly believed, was not the man. Although intimately asso¬ 
ciated with him, a vital part of him, the part of his being through 
which he gained knowledge for his own purposes and made 
himself known to others, its capacities were small and its powers 
were feeble when compared with those of the intellectual and 
spiritual nature by which it was tenanted. It is important to 
consider the man himself as he comes to that critical moment 
in which his personality is either extinguished or else enters into 
the region of the tremendous realities which lie beyond the 
range of earthly vision. 

One of the common effects of disease of the body is an appar¬ 
ent impairment of the intellectual powers. There are many 
exceptions, but this is the rule. The mind is so intimately con¬ 
nected with the body that any serious disturbance of the latter 
tends to weaken the action of the former. This is perfectly 
natural. It does not prove that the power of the mind has been 
diminished, but it does show that the means of communication 
which the intellect uses have been weakened or otherwise injured. 
During the progress of a lingering disease, or of a brief but vio¬ 
lent illness, there is often a marked depression of the mental 
powers. The same effect is ordinarily produced by old age. 
The inevitable decline of the physical forces is naturally accom¬ 
panied by a gradual failure of the intellectual faculties. 

It is not certain, however, that this subjection of the intellect 
to the enfeebled bodily condition continues through the final 
moment of the earthly life. Some very careful stu- . , 
dents and close observers of the phenomena of death intellectual 
believe that in very many cases, perhaps in all, there P ° wer8 ’ 
comes a flash of the clearest mental perception and a great 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


58 

exaltation of the intellectual faculties at the instant in which the 
soul takes its flight. That restoration of the mental powers in 
this critical moment has occurred in cases of serious and long¬ 
standing diseases of the brain is unquestionably true. This 
makes it reasonable to suppose that where the mind has not 
been diseased it will assert its power. And though there is 
often the appearance of a profound stupor, it does not follow 
that the dying one is unconscious in the moment of departure. 
The probabilities are against such a supposition. 

People who have been revived from apparent death by drown¬ 
ing have said that as they seemed to be leaving the world there 
passed through their minds a history of their* entire lives. Inci¬ 
dents of which they had not thought for years were vividly pre¬ 
sented, and the whole panorama of their thoughts and deeds was 
unrolled. The same quickened mental activity has been noticed 
by men who were suddenly exposed to great danger and who 
were in momentary expectation of death. And it does not seem 
improbable that when the physical powers are finally giving way, 
the mind, no longer distracted by the senses, exerts itself with a 
degree of clearness and power which it never before had exhib¬ 
ited. 

Of infinitely greater importance than the state of the body or 
the mind is the spiritual condition in the article of death. The 
The spiritual question whether this moment is one of absolute 
state at death. finality as regards the decision of all moral problems 
will be considered in a later chapter. Though many believe to 
the contrary, it seems to me that no radical change of character 
will take place after the departure of the soul from this world. 
I find no clear assurance in the Word of God that such a change 
is possible. With all my heart and soul I wish it could be made. 
But I have no right to interpret the Scriptures in accordance 
with my personal desires if their general teaching seems to point 
in another direction. Whether or not it is forever decisive, I 
am sure that the attitude of the soul, as it comes to the dividing 
line between this present world and the world that lies beyond, 
is a matter of transcendent importance. 

It is held by some that in this supreme moment the soul con¬ 
tinues in the state in which it has been willing to exist in the 
past. Whatever it is as it approaches the line, that it remains 
while the line is being crossed. In support of this claim they 


THE NATURE OF MAN 59 

point to many instances in which men have exhibited “the 
ruling passion strong in death.” The miser has change of am- 
talked about his wealth as long as he could express tude - 
his ideas, the mind of the scholar has been engaged with 
thoughts of his favorite studies, and the man who has been 
planning great things for the future still keeps them in mind. 
In such cases it seems as if the man was passing into the unseen 
realm with just the same tastes and desires as the ones which 
were active while he was in health. Then, too, there are numer¬ 
ous instances in which the mind is disordered and, so far as the 
last audible expressions can enable us to judge, the mental pro¬ 
cesses are so confused that the dying one is incompetent to 
change any decisions which he has made at a previous time. 
Not infrequently the last words of people are very different 
from what their lives and characters would lead their friends to 
expect. In such cases the disturbance of the mental system 
caused by the breaking down of the physical nature is so great 
that the real man is not able to make himself known to those 
around him. 

It must be admitted that these evidences go far toward prov¬ 
ing that no moral change can come to man in the article of 
death. There seems to be ample ground for the belief that one 
who has intelligently, deliberately, and persistently chosen evil 
instead of good, who has turned the energies of his nature into 
vicious courses, and who has made an absolute and unqualified 
decision to follow evil through time and eternity, may pass 
through the great ordeal of death without the slightest effort, or 
even the faintest desire, to turn from his wicked ways. But it 
seems possible that men who have not recklessly and outra¬ 
geously trampled upon all that is good will have a great spiritual 
awakening in the article of death. This may occur even in 
cases in which the mind is disordered up to the point at which 
the power of communication with others entirely fails. 

After the earthly sight has failed, the power of speech has 
gone, and no movement of the body can be made, — just as the 
soul takes its flight, — the spiritual nature maybe- perhaps a great 
come more sensitive, and its powers may be far uplift 
greater than has ever been the case in its previous experience. 
Perhaps in this supreme moment “ the mists of the earthly life 
clear away and its delusions disappear.” The change from the 


6o 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


ordinary mental and spiritual condition may be as marked as 
the one which we now observe when a man steps from a dark 
cave into the full light of the noonday sun. With this light 
flashing from the hitherto unseen world there may be presented 
to the soul an opportunity to affirm or reverse the choices which 
it has made in the past. 

This view should not, in the slightest degree, encourage one 
to leave the determination of the great moral questions of life 
until the moment of death. It is not certain that an opportu¬ 
nity to decide them will then be afforded. Neither is there any 
warrant for supposing that if it were given, it would invariably 
be followed by a decision for the right. By the great majority 
of those who have had a clear knowledge of the truth, and who 
in defiance of great light and greater love have chosen the evil, 
and have persistently followed it, such an opportunity would prob¬ 
ably be disregarded. To those who had never heard of Christ it 
might open a way of light and life. And perhaps the hope may 
be cherished that many of the laggards in the work of prepara¬ 
tion for the future which awaits them, together with the discour¬ 
aged and the weak-willed ones who have known their duty, but 
have never summoned sufficient resolution to do it, will rise to 
nobler heights than they have yet attained, and in the moment 
of departure from earth become the subjects of a signal act of 
grace on the part of a just but merciful God. 

To many persons who reach the border of the unknown land 
with minds unclouded, or whose mental powers, after a period 
visions of the of depression, reassert themselves in the article of 
dying. death, there come visions of persons or scenes which 

are wholly invisible to all others. In many cases relatives and 
friends who have previously died are apparently beheld by the 
departing soul. Sometimes the heavens seem to be opened, and 
the face of the dying one is lighted up with a glory that is not 
of earth. Sad cases, too, are on record — cases in which a life 
that had been spent in wickedness has gone out amid scenes of 
darkness and despair. 

It has been generally supposed that these visions were of a 
supernatural nature. That they were seen only by the dying 
was thought to be due to the fact that in the article of death 
there is a great exaltation of the spiritual perceptions which 
clearly reveal things which cannot be apprehended by the physi- 


THE NATURE OF MAN 


6l 


cal senses. This, to the great majority of people, was an entirely 
satisfactory explanation. 

In recent years the truth of this view has been questioned by 
some who maintain that all the strange phenomena can be fully 
accounted for upon purely natural grounds. It has been affirmed 
that people under the influence of anaesthetics have had similar 
visions, and that they proceeded entirely from a disordered con¬ 
dition of the mental faculties. The dying person may be under 
the influence of a powerful anaesthetic produced by a failure 
of the lungs to purify the blood. This, it is claimed, would have 
the same effect as would the administration of chloroform or any 
similar agent. Therefore the advocates of the theory insist that 
the supposed visions should be regarded merely as the dreams 
of a disordered and unrestrained mind. 

It is not to be denied that under certain conditions powerful 
anaesthetics will awaken pleasurable emotions. This I can affirm 
as a matter of personal experience as well as of observation. 
But there are a great number of instances in which glorious 
visions have appeared to dying saints, and some in which terrible 
scenes were unfolded to hardened criminals, in their last mo¬ 
ments on earth, for which such an explanation does not appear 
to be sufficient. There are indications that they had their origin 
in something higher than a mere physical condition, and that 
they have a more profound meaning than could be drawn from 
such a cause. It is surely reasonable to suppose that in the 
article of death there is a great uplift of the mind and the soul, 
and that the prime cause of this exaltation of the higher faculties 
lies in the spiritual domain. , 


CHAPTER V 


DIFFERENT VIEWS OF DEATH 

Regarding many things pertaining to death all who give the 
subject intelligent thought are fully agreed. But there are other 
points upon which widely different views have pre- 

Various opinions. .. , . ,. , , . n 

vailed in the past, and concerning which equally 
diverse opinions are entertained by men of the present day. It 
is not at all strange that there should be such differences of 
belief. There is no other subject upon which, in all of its details, 
men think exactly alike. Therefore it is not to be expected that 
there will be entire agreement in their views concerning death. 

One of the reasons for these divergent views is to be found in 
the extremely different conditions under which men live. To 
Modified by the one man life is pleasant and desirable. He recoils 
conditions of nfe. f rom the id ea that he must surrender it, and with it 
the comforts which it brings him, and which seem to be indis¬ 
pensable to his happiness. But to another man life is an almost 
unbroken round of troubles and disappointments. He suffers 
from disease, or has domestic trouble, or his plans are thwarted, 
and his purposes fail of accomplishment. The world yields him 
very little that he strives to gain. The path of life is hard, and 
the rewards of toil are few. So he becomes wearied and dis¬ 
couraged. Life has been so hard and disappointing that he can 
think of its close with composure, if not with positive satisfac¬ 
tion. It is perfectly natural that these varying conditions under 
which men live should cause a very marked difference of opin¬ 
ion as to the way in which the close of life is regarded. 

Another reason, and one that exerts more influence than all 
others combined, why men do not agree in their views of death, 
judged by ns is to be found in the fact that they hold widely dif- 
supposed results. f eren t opinions as to what actually results from this 
great change. It is plain that what any given individual thinks 
of death must depend upon his mental conception of the nature 
of that event and of the effects which it will produce. What a 


THE NATURE OF MAN 63 

man thinks of death will not in the slightest degree modify the 
facts in the case, but it will make a great difference in the man¬ 
ner in which death will be regarded. 

In early times, when the field of knowledge was small, and 
revelation concerning the future of humanity was both meagre 
and obscure, men represented death according to Varl0U8 
many different fancies. To the ancient Hebrews it re P resentations - 
was a messenger of destruction. To them life was warm, and 
cheerful, and desirable. It was the great good. Death was 
dark and forbidding. In mythology death has been represented 
as “ the daughter of night and the sister of sleep.” By some of 
the ancients it was regarded as an infernal deity. But it was a 
deity before whom no priests ministered, and in whose honor 
no temple services were held. Realizing that it was absolutely 
inexorable no effort was made to win its favor, or obtain help 
from its intervention. The old Norsemen spoke of death as a 
“ home going,” and the American Indian regarded it as a call to 
“ happy hunting grounds.” 

In art death has been variously represented. Sometimes it 
appears as a sleeping child. At others it is shown as a beauti¬ 
ful youth, and it is often depicted in friendly attitudes. But it 
has more frequently been figured as an enemy. One of the 
common representations is that of a skeleton armed with a 
scythe. Others show a terrible figure with an uplifted dart, and 
a wasted form holding an hourglass through which the sands 
of life are passing. 

In literature death has been described in many ways. Some¬ 
times it is represented as man’s truest and kindest friend; more 
frequently, perhaps, as a malignant and relentless foe. Some of 
these descriptions have been appalling; others are properly 
classed as sublime. 

As has already been indicated, the idea which any given indi¬ 
vidual will have of death will depend very largely upon the point 
of view from which it is regarded. The character T he personal 
of the man, his tastes and desires, his hopes and his element 
ambitions, will all give a coloring to his opinions upon this sub¬ 
ject. Death cannot be regarded as a problem in mathematics, 
or a fact in science, or like anything else which appeals solely 
to the intellect and presents the same outlines to all observers. 
For, in the consideration of death we have to do with a matter 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


64 

of direct and intense individual interest. It is impossible to 
eliminate the personal equation. 

Not only is this true, but it is also a fact that the same indi¬ 
vidual may have very different views of death at some times 
from those which he entertains at others. What seems at one 
time to be a perfectly natural event, which should be accepted 
as a matter of course, may appear very terrible under other con¬ 
ditions. In certain moods death may be thought of with appre¬ 
hension, in others it may present a really friendly aspect, and 
there may be times in which the thought of its certainty, and of 
its possible proximity, will awaken no particular emotion. The 
physical, mental, and moral condition will each and all exert a 
modifying influence upon the opinion which is held upon this 
subject, and as these conditions vary the ideas regarding death 
may be correspondingly modified. This fact should not give 
alarm to one who is trying to live in accordance with the pre¬ 
cepts of the Gospel. He may not at all times feel ready and 
willing to die, but this may be due to causes which do not in 
the least affect the question of his preparation for death. Char¬ 
acter, not feeling, will be the standard by which this all-important 
matter will be determined. 

Probably there is no other form in which death so often ap¬ 
pears to the mind of man as in that of an enemy. Disappoint¬ 
ments and misfortunes may embitter him against life, 
Death an enemy. ^ they seldom bring him to a point at which he 

can accept death as a friend. Until the ordinary means of 
enjoyment have been destroyed by illness or age, it is natural 
for man to look upon death as a foe. And cases are very com¬ 
mon in which the poor and the suffering, and even the helpless, 
who have no hope of securing the slightest improvement of 
their condition in this world, eagerly desire to live. It is entirely 
natural that men who are well supplied with the comforts of life 
should desire to remain in possession of their means of enjoy¬ 
ment, but the fact that the great majority of those who find life 
a hard and an incessant struggle are equally reluctant to depart 
shows that deep down in the nature of man there is a strong 
feeling that death is an evil of appalling magnitude. Reason 
assures us that death is a necessity, and that in some respects it 
is kind, but this conclusion does not come spontaneously. It 
must be reached by means of careful intellectual processes. 



THE TOMB OF RACHEL 








































































































THE NATURE OF MAN 


65 

The intuitive view of man is that death is an ever-threatening 
and a most malignant enemy. 

Together with, and largely proceeding from, this idea of 
enmity, is a very general fear of death. This emotion of fear 
has been common, though not universal, in all ages 
and among all people. It is much more pronounced The fear of death - 
in some countries than it is in others, and it varies greatly with 
individuals belonging to the same race and even to the same 
family. It is due to various causes. In part it is instinctive. 
In many minds there is a natural recoil from death. It is, also, 
to a considerable extent a matter of education. But the most 
potent of all influences which invest death with dread is found 
in the moral nature of man which is apprehensive regarding the 
consequences of the imperfections which have marked the con¬ 
duct of life. 

This fear of death is far from constant. To many it comes 
only at long intervals. It is comparatively slight in childhood. 
In youth it sometimes comes as a gloomy cloud, but The emotion not 
there is always a hope, and usually an expectation, constant 
that death will be long delayed. In middle life the cares or 
pleasures of the world largely engross the attention, but the 
thought of death will sometimes intrude. To those who are 
living only for this world, whose thoughts seldom rise to a higher 
life and all of whose possessions are here below, the hour of 
departure from familiar scenes, when considered at all, must be 
regarded with deep anxiety. It is said that when the famous 
actor, Garrick, was taking Dr. Samuel Johnson through his fine 
house, and exhibiting its beautiful furnishings, the great moralist 
exclaimed, “ Ah, David, these are the things that make death 
terrible! ” The man who sets his heart upon this world, and 
centres all his hopes in earthly things, must always find the 
thought of death intensely painful. Yet even in cases of this 
kind the emotion is not often awakened. Most of the time other 
matters engage the attention, and, as far as possible, the closing 
scene is excluded from the mind. With the approach of age 
the idea of departure must come frequently to the mind, but the 
fear with which the great change was regarded in earlier years 
seems to decrease. This may be due in part to the fact that 
the infirmities of age have deprived life of much of its enjoy¬ 
ment, but it probably comes in a large measure as the result of 
5 


66 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


Uncertainty. 


a beneficent law of our being in obedience to which the mind 
gradually becomes resigned to what is clearly seen to be inevi¬ 
table. 

Although the fear of death is not a constant emotion it is 
very real, and to many people it brings a great amount of 
some of the unhappiness. For this reason it will be well to con- 

causes of fear. s id erj rather more fully than has yet been done, some 
of the causes of the apprehension with which the thought of 
death is so frequently accompanied. It should be known 
whether this fear rests upon rational grounds, or comes from an 
erroneous view of the purposes and the effects of the destroyer 
of life. 

To a very large extent the fear of death grows out of a feeling 
of uncertainty regarding what is to follow after it has done its 
work. And, in turn, this uncertainty will be largely 
determined by the religious belief, or want of belief, 
of the individual by whom it is entertained. 

The man who has no living faith in God, and no firm belief 
in a revelation from Him, must find in the uncertainty which 
hangs over death and what comes after it ample reason for 
any degree of fear to which he may be subject. To such an 
one death is an appalling enigma. For the future it offers no 
certainties, but it opens a field of possibilities of evil which no 
human intellect can grasp. It means either the absolute de¬ 
struction of the being or else the continuation of existence under 
conditions which may involve regret and suffering through end¬ 
less ages. Under such conditions death may well be described, 
in the words of a noted unbeliever, as “ a terrible leap in the 
dark.” 

Probably the most common cause of the fear of death is 
a sense of guilt. Whatever may be his views as to the full 
desert of sin, every man will acknowledge the fact of 
its existence and admit that it cannot properly be 
allowed to go entirely unpunished. It is true that all men are 
not sinners in an equal degree. Some have come into the world 
with strong tendencies toward evil and have had but little light 
regarding their duty to God and to their fellow men. But after 
all possible excuses are admitted, and all abatements due on 
account of heredity and environment have been made, there will 
still remain many failures to perform known duty, and numerous 


A sense of guilt 


THE NATURE OF MAN 


67 

transgressions of the right, for which it is impossible to escape 
responsibility. As would naturally be expected, the sense of 
accountability is much keener in some cases than it is in others; 
but to every one who is sufficiently intelligent to discern the evil 
from the good there are times in which the thought of wrong¬ 
doing increases the purely natural fear of death. “ The sting 
of death is sin,” and until sin has been pardoned, or the soul 
has become so hardened in guilt as to no longer perceive its 
enormity, the fear that grows out of it cannot be wholly and 
permanently removed. 

There are many people whose fear of death is either caused 
or greatly increased by their ignorance of the circumstances by 
which the event will be attended. Certain forms of 
death seem much more terrible than others, and are attendant 
on that account particularly dreaded. The petition, c,rcumstance3 ‘ 
in the Book of Common Prayer, to be delivered from sudden 
death, indicates that by a very large number of people a removal 
from earth without warning is considered a great evil. This 
petition is significant, not merely on account of the desire which 
it expresses, but because of the character of those by whom it is 
principally employed. It is not usually offered by men and 
women who, so far as human judgment can determine, are in 
the greatest need of time in which to prepare for their departure* 
but by people who are at least trying to live godly lives. 

It is possible, as some have suggested, that when the litany 
was prepared this petition was framed with special reference to 
death by violence, at the hands of others, rather than to a merely 
unexpected summons to leave the world. But, whatever the 
original intent may have been, the phrase is still retained, and 
the connection in which it appears seems to justify the inference 
that those who use it feel that sudden death from any cause is 
to be deplored. Still, this sentiment is not universal. There are 
people who, if allowed to choose the manner of their exit from 
the world, would prefer to die suddenly. 

Neither is opinion uniform regarding other phases of this 
subject. There are people to whom some particular malady 
seems invested with unspeakable horror, while to their friends 
and associates it does not appear more dreadful than any one of 
many other forms of disease. Doubtless much of the slavish 
fear of death which is sometimes manifested is due to an appre- 


68 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


hension that the great enemy will appear in a form which seems 
most cruel and forbidding. There are many people who would 
look forward to the time, and regard the fact, of their departure 
from this world with much greater composure than they now do, 
if they were assured that the special form of disease or accident 
of which they are in the greatest dread would not be the means 
of their removal. 

Yet, while it is certain that in some forms death is more to be 
dreaded than it is in others, and that it would be a great relief 
to know that an easy departure would be granted, it cannot be 
denied that ignorance as to the specific character which it will 
assume is a great blessing to man. Knowledge upon this point 
would increase rather than diminish the dread with which the 
final scene is surrounded. It is best, both for ourselves and for 
all with whom we have to do, that in respect to the manner of 
our departure the veil should not be lifted until we come into 
the immediate presence of death. 

There is also a fear of death that is purely instinctive. This 
form of fear is manifested by the lower animals as fully as it 
An instinctive is by man, and seems to be common to all sentient 
emction. beings. Under its influence the weak quickly flee 

from the strong. The strong resist attack and use all possible 
means to preserve their own lives, and, in order to insure safety 
in the future, destroy the lives of their assailants. Self-preserva¬ 
tion is said to be “ the first law ” of human nature, and observa¬ 
tion shows it to be the law that dominates all the brute creation. 

Some of the causes which lead men to fear death are not 
worthy of the degree of importance which in many cases is 
uses of this fear Cached *° them. They are not to be ignored, but 
they should have a subordinate place. There are 
others which cannot be too carefully considered. They all have 
their uses, and the lessons which they are designed to teach 
should be learned and applied. 

The circumstances which are to attend our exit from the 
world should not be allowed to make us unduly apprehensive. 
They may well be left to the care and direction of God. What¬ 
ever He chooses should be accepted without complaint. We 
are His children. He cares for us, and He knows, infinitely 
better than we can even imagine, what is for our best good. 

The fear of death which springs from a feeling that all may 


THE NATURE OF MAN 


69 

not be well with us hereafter is an emotion of solemn import 
which cannot, even for an instant, be safely disregarded. It 
should lead to an immediate surrender of the soul to the will of 
God, and a change in the heart and life which will bring the 
whole being into such relations with its Creator as to take away 
the sting, though it may not wholly remove the natural dread, 
of death. 

Neither is the instinctive fear of death to be lightly regarded. 
It was implanted in the nature of man for wise and beneficent 
purposes. There are multitudes of people who find the condi¬ 
tions of life hard and disagreeable, and who rebel against the 
discipline to which they are subjected for their moral improve¬ 
ment. Many a man who belongs to this class would, in some 
time of special stress and discouragement, commit suicide, — 

“ But that the dread of something after death, 

That undiscovered country, from whose bourne 
No traveler returns, puzzles the will; 

And makes us rather bear those ills we have, 

Than fly to others that we know not of.” 

In numberless instances this instinctive fear of death and what 
may flow from it has prevented the commission of an awful 
crime. And this natural dread of death not only benefits the 
individual by restraining him from sin, but it also tends to the 
preservation of homes, the stability of governments, the progress 
of civilization, and the general welfare of the race. 

It requires no argument to prove that the man who has a 
living faith in Jesus Christ will hold very different opinions in 
respect to death from one who rejects the claims of The Christian view 
the Gospel. In certain respects death will be the °f death - 
same, both as to its nature and its effects, to both, but this simi¬ 
larity will pertain only to what is of brief duration and minor 
importance. Concerning all that lies beyond a very limited 
sphere there is a wide divergence. The one looks forward to a 
life of peace and happiness in a land which lies beyond the range 
of mortal vision but which is clearly discerned by the eye of 
faith. The other has no such anticipation. Whatever he may 
hope concerning his well-being in the future he has no settled 
belief. 

The followers of Christ not only proclaim the certainty of a 
future existence, which the materialist rejects and the agnostic 
doubts, but they also have higher and nobler conceptions of the 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


70 

character of that life than are entertained by the adherents to 
any other religious or philosophical system. This being the 
case, it seems natural to expect that the fear of death will be far 
less pronounced among Christian people than it is outside of 
their ranks. If the facts could be ascertained this supposition 
would probably be found correct. But it would also be shown 
that the difference between those who are afraid to die and 
those who are but little concerned as to what death will bring is 
not wholly of a religious, or even of a moral, nature. There are 
many wicked men who regard death with indifference, and prob¬ 
ably a much larger number of good men who look forward to it 
with fear. 

Too many Christians give a larger share of their thought 
upon the subject of death to its darker aspects than they do to 
the brighter shades which appear in its coloring. They think 
too much of its enmity and too little of its kindly ministrations. 
They are too much cast down by the defeat which comes in the 
conflict with death. It is true that the overthrow of the higher 
nature by the lower one is hard to bear. But the conquest is 
only apparent. The destruction of the body secures the libera¬ 
tion of the soul. 

It is sometimes said that Christ shrank from death and that 
His reluctance to pass through its experience is proof that it is 
chnstshmnk a most terrible foe. If the close of a perfect life is 
from death. marked by anxious forebodings, the sinful soul may 

well be appalled at the prospect of death. 

Probably too much stress has been laid upon this line of 
argument. Christ undoubtedly had the natural love of life 
which is common to man, but the sorrow of death to Him did 
not lie in the mere separation of soul and body. Had death 
come to Him in its natural form, and involved no more to Him 
than departure from earth, there can be no doubt that He would 
have met it with perfect composure. There would have been 
regret at leaving His work unfinished, and in being parted from 
those He loved, but this would have been relieved by the thought 
that the work would be carried on by others and that those who 
had been His companions on earth would soon be with Him in a 
happy home into which death could never come. Christ was 
without sin, and to a sinless being death would present as one 
of its aspects the appearance of a release from many unpleasant 


THE NATURE OF MAN 


71 

conditions. The natural home of such a being is not in a world 
in which sin prevails. To such an one death would seem like 
the recall of an exile to his native land. 

This was not the manner of death that was dreaded by Christ. 
To Him the enemy came in its most appalling form and under 
circumstances of inconceivable horror. Maligned, and mocked, 
and outrageously maltreated by His enemies, deserted by His 
friends and at length by His Father, suffering the fearful physi¬ 
cal tortures of the crucifixion, and bearing upon His soul the sins 
of the world, it is not strange that under such circumstances 
death was clothed with terror. Foreseeing all that awaited Him, 
it could not be otherwise than that His soul should be “exceed¬ 
ing sorrowful ” and that His agony should be far beyond mere 
human endurance. 

From this it does not follow that the believer in Christ should 
have such a shrinking from death as his Master experienced. 
No human being will ever stand in the same relation to death 
as did Christ. It is true that He was holy and that man is 
guilty. But no man bears other sins than his own, and the true 
Christian is free from the condemnation which is merited by his 
transgressions. It was not death itself that was so terrible to 
Christ as He approached the final hour, but the unspeakable 
sorrow of leaving His disciples among their bitter enemies, the 
indescribable sufferings of body and of mind, and the appalling 
spiritual horrors that were inseparable from the completion of 
the atoning and redemptive work which He came upon earth to 
perform. 

It ofttimes occurs that the fear of death which to the sincere 
Christian has been a cause of great anxiety in the period of 
health departs when the final hour draws near. 

1 # Fear departs . 

Faith grows stronger as the bodily powers fail. God 
does not and will not desert His children in the time of their 
extremity. His care is over us all our lives. His grace is of¬ 
fered day by day as it is required. But it is given for the pre¬ 
sent, not for the future. We live only in the present, and our 
real needs are confined within its limits. While death is a future 
event we are not in special need of grace to enable us to meet 
it. When it becomes a present experience the believing soul 
will not be left unaided. As Henry Ward Beecher said, dying 
grace is not to be expected “ till it’s time to die.” 


72 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


In many cases there is not only an absence of fear when death 
approaches, but the soul is exultant and triumphant. The dying 
one feels that instead of dropping out of existence 

Triumph in death. . . . r ° 

he is entering a new and a far more abundant lire. 
The spirit rises to sublime heights and rejoices that it is to be 
set free from all the fetters of earth. 

As a single illustration of this triumph in the final hour, the 
case of the Rev. Thomas Starr King may be noted. The cir¬ 
cumstances were related by an intimate friend who was present 
at the time of his departure. When almost at the close of his 
earthly career, with his bodily strength rapidly failing but his 
mind clear and active, Mr. King exclaimed, “ I wish I could 
describe my feelings. It is strange! I feel all the privileges 
and greatness of the future. ... I see a great future before me. 
It already looks grand, beautiful.” He had for years made a 
careful study of matters pertaining to the future state, and he 
seemed to exult in the thought that he was soon to gain practi¬ 
cal knowledge concerning many things which had hitherto been 
to him the great mysteries of the spirit world. 

There are many other points which would be included if there 
were room for an exhaustive statement of the Christian view of 
a journey death. Of these, one of the most pleasant, and one 
which should be often dwelt upon, is the thought of 
death as a journey to some better land which is to be a happy 
and a permanent abode. This view recognizes death as an aid 
to progress. Instead of remaining here for a long period, we 
move on to larger fields and greater opportunities. Here it is 
common to go upon a journey to some distant point in pursuit 
of pleasure or for the restoration of health. And, if life has 
been passed aright, the summons to leave the world will be only 
the call to commence a journey that will be for our endless hap¬ 
piness and our highest welfare. Death will lead us to a nobler 
state of being than we could ever attain while we remained 
inhabitants of earth. Even if life is pleasant and fruitful, death 
will open the way to the attainment of better things. This 
thought has been happily expressed in a poem by Ella Wheeler 
Wilcox, which is now going the rounds of the papers, and of 
which the first verse is as follows: — 

“ I think of death as some delightful journey 
That I shall take when all my tasks are done, 


THE NATURE OF MAN 


73 


Though life has given me a heaping measure 
Of all best gifts, and many a cup of pleasure, 

Still better things await me further on.” 

Another light in which death should be viewed by the Chris¬ 
tian is in that of a release. While he remains upon earth he is 
necessarily and wisely subjected to many things 
which, though designed to work for his good, are in 
themselves great evils. He is constantly exposed to suffering 
and bereavement and misfortune. And, what is immeasurably 
worse than all these ills combined, he is under the dominion of 
sin. Very few, even of the most devoted servants of God, claim 
to reach a plane upon which they live without departure from 
the perfect way in which He has directed them to walk. And 
most of those who profess to have made such progress in piety 
that they do not commit any known sin, freely admit that there 
still remain in their characters many imperfections. The lim¬ 
itations of human nature and the conditions under which men 
live are such constant and powerful obstacles to a perfect devel¬ 
opment of the spiritual qualities that few or none ever reach the 
lofty heights which pious souls earnestly desire to attain. 

From these and all other evils which affect the body and the 
soul death will bring a release. The fiery trials through which 
the believer has often been obliged to pass are ended. The 
body will no more be tortured with pain. The unrest of the 
soul ceases forever. But the supreme benefit conferred by 
death is the breaking of the shackles of sin. The higher nature, 
which has constantly been limited and too often almost sub¬ 
verted by the lower qualities, is freed from its entanglements and 
rises to the plane upon which it was designed to live. Thus to 
the weary struggling one who finds life an incessant conflict 
with sin, and who is often defeated in the strife, death may 
properly appear as a welcome release. It marks the close of a 
great and a long-continued contest. With its advent the con¬ 
flict with evil comes to an end. The warfare is then accom¬ 
plished and the mantle of peace falls upon the departing soul. 

Without entering into further details of the view which the 
Christian should take of death, it will be well to con- 

Death beneficent. 

sider briefly some of the features which have no 

special reference to any particular system of religion, but which 

are presented to the race at large. 

5 * 


74 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


Prominent among the qualities which thoughtful men must 
ascribe to death is that of beneficence. Though in many ways 
it is a great disaster, it is not an unmixed evil. Even if we take 
the extreme view that it came upon man purely as the penalty 
of violated law, that it is unnatural and is a subversion of the 
real purpose of God and the true destiny of man, we shall find 
interwoven with its effects many things which soften its for¬ 
bidding appearance. More than this. If we carefully consider 
the matter we shall be convinced that in the present condition 
of the world death is the agent by means of which certain posi¬ 
tively beneficent ends are accomplished. A broad view of the 
subject will compel the belief that it is well, both for the indi¬ 
vidual and the race, that death is in the world. 

Considering it from the lower plane of the merely animal 
existence, we find that death is really a friend. When age 
From the stand- comes on and the infirmities which are inseparable 
point of nature. f rom advancing years weigh more and more heavily 
as time is extended, the change which will be wrought by death 
must present a much gentler and more hopeful appearance than 
the outlook upon an unending life in this world could offer. 
Continuous existence under such conditions would be regarded 
only as a calamity. John Foster found the idea of death “ super¬ 
latively grand and consoling,” and declared that “ the expecta¬ 
tion of living here, and living thus always, would be indeed a 
prospect of overwhelming despair.” Probably every man who 
considers what results would flow from an unlimited continu¬ 
ance of this life after the period of extreme old age had been 
reached will heartily assent to this conclusion. 

Not only is death a friend to the individual, but it is also 
beneficent to the race. It may not fully meet the theory of 
Effect upon the those who hold that “the greatest good to the 
race - greatest number ” is the end toward which all the 

energies of the universe ought to be directed; but it does insure 
whatever measure of happiness life may hold to an immensely 
larger number of people than could otherwise exist. This fact is 
apparent to all classes of men. Savage as well as civilized man 
has perceived its truth and has recognized its beneficence. 

One of the North American Indian tribes has a curious tra¬ 
dition which illustrates this point. It is to the effect that upon 
the arrival of their tribe in this world, which was the fifth in 


THE NATURE OF MAN 


75 

which they had found a home, efforts were made to divine their 
fate. At length one who was living with them, though he was 
believed to be one of the “ children of the sky,” threw a stone 
into the water, saying, “ If it sinks we perish; if it floats we live.” 
When the stone sank the people were angry and made many; 
complaints, but they were soon silenced by the reply: “ If we 
all live, and continue to increase as we have done, the earth will 
soon be too small to hold us, and there will be no room for the 
cornfields. It is better that each of us should live but a time 
on this earth and then leave and make room for our children .” 1 

It has already been noted that the progress of the race is 
largely due to the fact that one generation follows another, and 
each inherits the treasures which its predecessors have secured. 
Many who have made a careful study of the sciences bearing 
especially upon this subject go so far as to claim that death was 
the direct means of opening the way for the appearance of the 
higher forms of life, and that without its agency man could not 
have come into the world. Whether this claim be admitted or 
not, it cannot be denied that so far as the race at large is con¬ 
cerned, death is really “ a servant and helpmeet of life .” 2 

When we view death from its spiritual side we find equally 
convincing proofs of its beneficence. There is a far too general 
inclination to shut the thought of death from the spiritual influ- 
mind and to defer preparation for that great event. ence ' 

But a death in the circle of his relatives or friends turns the 
attention of even the most worldly man, for a time at least, to 
this great subject. The conviction is then forced upon him 
that he will be obliged to follow the departed, and the impor¬ 
tance of placing himself in readiness to meet the summons to 
leave the world is impressed upon his mind. In many cases 
the nobler instincts are aroused and desires for a better life are 
awakened. Thus the natural death of one may result in the 
opening of spiritual life to another. 

It is not always easy to realize that affliction may be the 
means of great good to those upon whom it falls. Sometimes 
when our dear ones are called away the stroke is so A means of grace 
heavy, the grief is so sharp, and the sense of loss is totheb *r°<™ d - 
so great and so persistent that it seems as though nothing but 

1 Washington Matthews, LL. D., Navaho Legends. 

2 Newman Smyth, D. D., The Place of Death in Evolution . 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


7 6 

evil could come out of such a terrible experience. And yet 
when the mind becomes more composed it is seen that death 
often has been, and always may be, a means of grace to those 
who are bereaved. 

As in the natural world “ all sunshine makes the desert,” so 
in human lives unbroken prosperity tends to spiritual unfruitful¬ 
ness. The legitimate effect of sorrow is to quicken the spiritual 
perceptions and enrich and ennoble the soul. Under the dis¬ 
cipline of bereavement the heart unsatisfied with the fleeting 
things of earth should turn more fully to God. Doing this, the 
sorrowing one will find a profound truth in the apparently para¬ 
doxical assertion of Christ, “ Blessed are they that mourn.” 

The more fully the revelation of truth has been made to man, 
the more clearly is the fact revealed that great blessings may 
come as the result of affliction. In the early history of the race 
long life under pleasant conditions appeared to be the chief 
good. Gradually the spiritual nature came into prominence and 
the development of character was seen to be the real purpose of 
life in this world. Affliction, which was once regarded as a mark 
of the Divine displeasure, came to be recognized as a means of 
awakening the energies and developing the powers of the human 
soul. Man was made for a nobler purpose than merely to enjoy 
life, and God has been teaching him this fact by means of a 
progressive revelation. As Lord Bacon has said : “ Prosperity 
is the blessing of the Old Testament; adversity is the blessing 
of the New, which carrieth the greater benediction and the 
clearer revelation of God’s favor.” 

It is natural to shrink from sorrow. We desire happiness, 
and it is not wrong that we should do so. But when affliction 
comes, as it surely will, it should be borne with 
No " pumshment resignation. It is not to be regarded as punishment 
or as an indication of God’s anger. The Lord “ doth not afflict 
willingly, nor grieve the children of men.” As the world is 
constituted, death is inevitable and sorrow must come to all. 
But affliction is to be considered as kindly discipline. Though 
in the present it seems hard to bear, “ yet afterward it yieldeth 
peaceable fruit ” to those who humbly and submissively yield 
to its influence and who strive to learn the lessons which it is 
designed to teach. It is true that happiness is not to be de¬ 
spised. Members of families whose circle remains for many 


THE NATURE OF MAN 


77 

years unbroken have great cause for thanksgiving. Yet we 
need to remember that they are not more truly the objects of 
the love and mercy of God than are those who have been called 
to mourn. 

“ Oh, deem not they are blest alone 
Whose lives a peaceful tenor keep ; 

The Power who pities man, has shown 
A blessing for the eyes that weep.” 

It is often the case that death exerts a beneficent influence* 
upon the household into which it enters. By the removal of 
one of the family the survivors are more closely 

. ,1111 J Influence upon 

drawn to each other than they ever were before, family and social 
The family life becomes sweeter and more helpful, nfe ' 
an element of sacredness is introduced, and the ties of kindred 
are strengthened by the common affliction. The remaining 
members of many a family have been brought into a more inti¬ 
mate and more affectionate union around the grave of one who 
had been taken from them than they ever would have been, or 
perhaps could have been, if death had not invaded the home. 

Then, too, death brings into exercise the finer qualities of 
human nature. The sympathy of friends and acquaintances in 
the hour of bereavement is not only a great comfort to those 
who are called to mourn, but it also purifies and strengthens the 
spiritual life of all from whose hearts it flows. Thus death be¬ 
comes truly “ a means of grace,” not to the relatives only, but to 
the wider circle of those to whom the departed one was known. 

In a world of holiness and happiness death, as it now comes 
to man, would be a calamity beyond the power of language to 
describe. But in a world where sin prevails it is not Meets present 
an unmixed evil. Severity is tempered with mercy con<mions - 
and there are alleviations for the deepest woe. Continuous life 
here, under present conditions of the body and soul, would be 
unendurable. It would lead us to pray for death more earnestly, 
perhaps, than we now pray for life. The fact that death has a 
place in the divine order of the universe should convince us 
that the purposes which it serves must be both wise and just. 
If to what knowledge we now possess we add a reasonable 
degree of faith, we shall be able not only to regard it with 
composure, but from our deepest hearts to say, 

« Thank God for Death: bright thing with dreary name.’ 1 


CHAPTER VI 


THE DEAD BODY 

When respiration and circulation have permanently ceased, 
the body, as an organism, is said to be dead. But though the 
Gradualdissoiu- body as a unit dies when “the citadel of life” sur- 
non. renders, a part at least of the organs do not immedi¬ 

ately lose all their vitality. These organs may continue to act 
for several hours after the body as a whole has ceased to live, 
but they cannot act in concert. The stomach may secrete gas¬ 
tric juice and the liver secrete bile. The nails and hair may 
grow a very little, and even the heart may beat for a few min¬ 
utes after death has occurred. I have seen strong pulsations of 
the heart of a dog after his body had been cut in two by a rail¬ 
road train. The same phenomenon might be observed in the 
case of a man if he suffered a similar accident. For some hours 
after the death of the body the muscles can, by being subjected 
to electric currents, be made to contract. As dead matter never 
manifests irritability, these movements are conclusive proof that 
some measure of vitality still remains. 

In a comparatively short time, in most cases in a few hours, 
the life of all of the organs is brought to a close. They may be 
intact, and appear to be uninjured, but the vital 
principle has departed and only dead matter re¬ 
mains. This extinction of the energies of life is followed by 
chemical action, which leads to the dissolution of the body 
itself. The rapidity with which the changes which are thus 
induced will proceed varies with the cause of death, the condi¬ 
tion of the body, and the temperature in which it is placed; 
but unless arrested by artificial means, their destructive work 
will go on until the whole physical frame is resolved into the 
sixteen 1 elements of which it was composed. Thus it will 
literally “ return unto the ground ” from which, as Scripture 
asserts and analysis clearly proves, all of its materials came. 

1 H. N. Martin, F. R. S., The Human Body . 


THE NATURE OF MAN 


79 

When this is accomplished the triumph of death over the physi¬ 
cal man is complete. 

Among various peoples the dead body has been regarded as 
a source of defilement To the Jews a corpse was utterly un¬ 
clean. Any one touching a dead body was thereby ceremonially 
rendered unclean for seven days, and was obliged to unc,ean • 
go through a stated form of purification before he could appear 
in the congregation. All who came into a tent in which was a 
corpse, or who touched either the body of one who had been 
slain with the sword in the field, the bone of a dead man, or 
even a grave, were defiled, and required a ceremonial purifica¬ 
tion before they could enter the sanctuary of the Lord. Only in 
exceptional cases could a priest take an active part in a burial, 
and the high priest was wholly debarred from such service. 

Various explanations of these strict requirements have been 
made. From the standpoint of hygiene the regulations affect¬ 
ing the common people are seen to be wise and useful. They 
would do much to prevent the spread of certain classes of dis¬ 
ease, and would compel the people to have their burial-places 
outside the villages and towns. Then, too, it would keep the 
Hebrews from following the Egyptian custom of embalming 
the body in order to preserve it for an indefinite period, and of 
retaining it in the house in which the family lived. 

The priests were prohibited from touching a dead body 
because they were the representatives of God, and between God 
and death there is a direct antagonism. Consequently every¬ 
thing having connection with death must be unholy. “ God is 
life, absolutely independent, inviolable life. It is not seemly 
that persons, consecrated to this living God, should come into 
contact with death .” 1 Incidentally these requirements indicate 
that death is to be regarded as something more than a merely nat¬ 
ural event. It is necessary and in various ways is beneficent, 
but it also has elements which are of an entirely different charac¬ 
ter. The prohibitions which have been noted were designed to 
impress this fact upon the minds of the people. It was not, 
however, any part of their purpose to lead to a neglect of the 
body, and they did not have that effect. In all ages the He¬ 
brews have tenderly cared for the remains of their departed 
relatives and friends. 

1 Dr. Hermann Schultz, Old Testament Theology. 


8o 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


The early Romans also held that contact with a dead body 
rendered the living unclean. All the persons present at a 
funeral were sprinkled with water by a priest, and after the ser¬ 
vices were concluded the members of the family, and even the 
house itself, were subjected to certain rites which were sup¬ 
posed to remove the contamination to which they had been ex¬ 
posed. Many of the Greeks held a similar opinion, and required 
all who attended a funeral to be purified by the application of 
water before they could enter the temples or worship the gods. 
Something of this kind has been observed among peoples who 
were widely separated by distance and who had reached very 
different degrees of civilization. And at the present day there 
are, in various parts of the world, those who carefully observe 
certain rules after handling a dead body. 

A kind of superstitious fear of the dead body seems to be 
very widely disseminated. The Navaho Indians long had a 
belief that if they looked upon a dead body they 
would soon die. Ihis fear appears to have been 
based upon the supposition that the soul of the departed had 
gone to another world, and that a demon had come to abide 
with the body. Even now most of the members of this tribe 
“ believe a house haunted or accursed in which a human being 
dies. They abandon it, never enter it again, and usually destroy 
it .” 1 It is only in very recent times that any of these people 
have built substantial dwellings. Whether the change in this 
respect indicates that the superstition is losing its power over 
their minds, or they have found some means by the use of 
which they think it possible to avert the threatened evil, is not 
known. 

The Eskimos at Smith Sound also vacate a house in which 
a person dies, and do not use it again for a long period. In 
many cases the dwelling is abandoned forever. Among civi¬ 
lized people this fear of a dead body is widely prevalent, but it 
is not often exhibited in so marked a degree. Yet there are 
many intelligent people who would rather not be left alone with 
a corpse in the daytime, and who would be really afraid to be 
the only living person to stay in a house with a dead body at 
night. There are many, too, who have a very decided aversion 
to entering, in the dark and alone, a room in which a person 

1 Washington Matthews, LL. D., Navaho Legends . 


SARCOPHAGUS OF Al. 


k 
























































































































































































































THE NATURE OF MAN 


8l 


has recently died. Whether this fear of the dead body, and 
even of the place in which the body has been temporarily laid, 
is due to a natural abhorrence of death which was implanted by 
the Creator in the nature of man, or comes from some other 
source, cannot be determined. Probably it is to a great extent 
instinctive, and was designed to bring home to the mind and 
the heart of man the great fact that death is a moral admonition 
as well as a physical necessity. 

In many cases the feeling inspired by the presence of a dead 
body is one of awe rather than of fear. There is something 
impressive in the ruin wrought by death. It brings , nsplrea afeeling 
to the mind of man a sentiment that is partly dread of awe - 
and partly reverence. It is a far nobler emotion than fear, and 
is more solemn than the feeling that is prompted by any of the 
other ordinary occurrences of the world. 

Perhaps no other such beautiful and accurate description of 
this feeling has ever been penned as that in which Thomas De 
Quincey relates how he was impressed when he was a child of 
but little more than six years of age. At the noontide of a mid¬ 
summer day he stole, softly and alone, into the room in which 
lay the dead body of his sister, who was some two years older 
than himself, and to whom he was tenderly attached. After 
noting the change that death had made, he says: “ I stood 
checked for a moment; awe, not fear, fell upon me; and whilst 
I stood, a solemn wind began to blow, — the most mournful 
that ear ever heard. Mournful! that is saying nothing. It was 
a wind that had swept the fields of mortality for a hundred cen¬ 
turies. Many times since, upon a summer day, when the sun is 
about the hottest, I have remarked the same wind arising and 
uttering the same hollow, solemn Memnonian but saintly swell; 
it is in this world the one sole audible symbol of eternity. And 
three times in my life I have happened to hear the same sound 
in the same circumstances, namely, when standing between an 
open window and a dead body on a summer day .” 1 This mys¬ 
terious wind has been heard and felt by many a mourner in the 
ages in which death has reigned in the world. And when its 
solemn vibration strikes the ear it renders still more profound 
the feeling of awe with which every thoughtful person must be 
impressed when alone in a room in which a dead body is laid. 

1 Suspiria De Profundis . 


82 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


From ancient times people of almost every race and clime 
have cared for the bodies of their departed companions. There 
is unquestionable evidence that prehistoric man 
care of the body. k ur j ec | j^jg dead, anc i that 1Tian y 0 f the savage races 

have, from an early period, given some degree of attention to 
the remains of those who had been associated with them during 
life. In all civilized nations the care of the dead body has been 
regarded as a matter of great importance, and all the purer 
forms of religion have made it one of their prominent require¬ 
ments. 

The methods of caring for the body immediately after death 
have varied, in many respects, in different lands. Some cus¬ 
toms, however, have been common to nearly all times and 
places. Among these are the closing of the eyes and mouth, 
the washing of the body and placing the limbs in a natural posi¬ 
tion. Anointing the body with oil and wrapping it in a linen 
cloth, or dressing it in garments similar to those worn by the 
living, have also been largely practiced. In some countries, 
after a certain degree of preparation has been made, a priest 
prays over the body, sprinkles it with holy water, and burns 
incense in the room in which it is placed. The principles of 
the Christian religion teach that although the body is the infe¬ 
rior part of man it is by no means to be despised. It is the 
“ habitation of the soul ” while life remains, and it is fitting that 
it should receive respectful treatment when its nobler tenant 
has departed. 

Some of the Arab tribes carry their regard for the body to a 
great extreme. Any mutilation they consider a terrible misfor¬ 
tune. This, because they believe that the possession of a per¬ 
fect physical frame at the time of death is one of the essential 
conditions of their admission to heaven. In war, especially 
with cannibals, they fight with the greatest desperation as long 
as they can maintain their ground, but when defeat appears to 
be inevitable they flee from the foe. Their retreat is not due so 
much to a desire to prolong their lives as it is to anxiety to keep 
their bodies from being mangled or destroyed by their enemies. 

Various peoples have made efforts to protect the body from 
dissolution. Of these the Egyptians have been the most promi¬ 
nent and the most successful. From a remote period they prac¬ 
ticed the art of embalming the bodies of the dead. They seem 


THE NATURE OF MAN 83 

to have adopted this custom because they believed that the 
immortal part of the man would at various times preserving the 
temporarily return to the body, and at length, per- body - 
haps after the lapse of ages, it would enter its former habitation 
and the body would awake to a new life. 

There were various processes of embalming. These differed 
mainly in the degree of thoroughness with which the operation 
was performed and the quantity and quality of the spices which 
were used. The internal organs were removed, the body was 
soaked in a strong brine for about ten weeks, and then saturated 
with bitumen, a substance which contains the well-known anti¬ 
septic, carbolic acid. The body was also wrapped very closely 
in a linen cloth, and finally was put into a coffin. So long as 
it is kept from air and moisture the mummy, as the body thus 
treated is called, remains unchanged, but exposure causes it to 
crumble quickly to dust. As late as the year 1881 the mummy 
of King Rameses II., the Pharaoh of the time of the Exodus, 
was discovered and was found to be in a good state of preserva¬ 
tion. 

The great majority of Christian people, and millions who 
hold other forms of religious belief, make no effort to prevent, 
or to greatly retard, the natural processes by which the body, as 
an organism, is totally destroyed. Yet it is often desirable to 
protect the corpse for a limited time from decomposition. This 
end can be accomplished by various methods. 

One of the simplest means, and one which has long been in 
extensive use, though it is open to serious objections, is the 
placing of the body in a box which is lined on the bottom and 
sides with ice. The use of diluted carbolic acid upon the body 
and sprayed into the nostrils, with a small quantity of ice placed 
over the stomach, has, in some cases at least, proved equally ser¬ 
viceable. But in recent years a somewhat simple process of 
embalming has been quite commonly adopted. This consists 
in injecting into the arteries and the cavities of the body a mix¬ 
ture of poisonous but highly antiseptic substances known as 
“ embalming fluid.” By the use of this fluid, in quantities ran¬ 
ging from two to five or six quarts, bodies can be kept for sev¬ 
eral days in the hottest and closest weather, without perceptible 
change. In recent years a mixture of formaldehyde, a substance 
obtained from wood alcohol, and various other materials has 


1 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


84 

been made which is injected in the same manner as the ordinary 
fluid and which will preserve the natural appearance of the body 
for an indefinite period. But in the great majority of cases it is 
not desirable to keep the body many days after death, and the 
simplest means by which it can be kept from decomposition for 
a brief time will probably be the most satisfactory ones which 
can be employed. 

Although the dead body should not be either neglected or 
despised, the distinction between it and the individual by whom 
. t it was inhabited should be sharply drawn. It is nat- 

Not the real man. 

ural to cling to the body of one who was dear to us, 
as though it could be useful to ourselves or to the departed. 
But it has served its purpose. It was the home in which the 
person dwelt in the days of his earthly pilgrimage. He needs 
it no longer, and we should calmly and even cheerfully, allow it 
to return to the dust. We may be sure that if one whom we 
call dead could speak to those who weep over his body he would 
express the sentiment ascribed by Edwin Arnold to one who 
died at Azan: — 


“ Cease your tears and let it lie; 
It was mine —it is not I.” 


CHAPTER VII 


THE FINAL DISPOSITION OF THE BODY 

Among different peoples, and with the same races at different 
periods of their history, the methods of finally disposing of the 
dead body have varied greatly. These variations 
have been due in part to circumstances which were 
beyond human control and, perhaps to an equal extent, to 
changes in the belief of the living regarding the fate of the 
individuals who died. 

It is plain that to a considerable extent natural conditions 
must influence the living in their selection of the methods in 
which they will dispose of the bodies of the dead, uniformity 
In the Arctic regions, for instance, the plan of burial im P° ssib,e - 
several feet under ground, which is common in warmer climates, 
is almost impossible to follow. Cremation would be still more 
difficult to perform. Even if the same religious belief were 
common to all, the widely varying conditions under which men 
are placed would prevent a uniform disposition of the bodies of 
their dead. It is equally plain that the method of disposing of 
the body that will be adopted by savage or barbarous tribes will 
be very different from that which intelligent and Christian peo¬ 
ple will follow. The Christian would give the body of an enemy 
decent burial. Education and religion have taught him that a 
degree of sacred ness attaches to the body of any and every man. 
With the cannibal the case is entirely different. He believes 
that if he merely kills his enemy the spirit still lives and may 
avenge the injury which it has suffered by the death of the 
body. But he also thinks that if he eats the body of his fallen 
foe he thereby makes both the body and spirit of the enemy a 
part of himself. Thus, he imagines, he is not only protected 
from the injury which he feared, but is made stronger and more 
courageous than he otherwise could have been. 

Probably the earliest method of disposing of the dead body 
was by burial. This plan was certainly followed by some pre- 


86 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


historic races and by the leading nations in the earlier part 
of the period concerning which we have a credible 
record. No uniform system of burial was followed. 
In some countries the flesh was removed from the bones before 
burial, though this does not appear to have been a universal 
custom. In many places and in various countries the dead 
were buried in a sitting posture. Skeletons have been found 
buried in a circle, as though they were around a camp-fire or 
were gathered at a feast. The cave dwellers set apart certain 
caves for the dead and walled up the entrances after bodies had 
been deposited therein. In early times some of the peoples who 
had made a little progress toward civilization covered their dead 
with large heaps of stones. Some even made rude vaults of 
loose stones and in these deposited the bodies of their friends 
who had died. Large burial mounds, called barrows, have also 
been found in many parts of the world. 

Burial in caves was, to some extent, practiced in the period 
of early Scripture history. When Sarah died, Abraham pur¬ 
chased the cave of Machpelah, “ the field, and the cave which 
was therein, and all the trees that were in the field, that were 
in all the border thereof round about.” Then the patriarch 
“ buried Sarah, his wife, in the cave of the field.” 

As a rule the Hebrews, in all their history, have been careful 
to bury their dead. To neglect the body of a deceased relative 
or friend was regarded as a great wrong, and for a 

Why practiced. . Q , . . „ ® -i i 

man to “ have no burial was considered a dire 
calamity. The early Christians not only carefully buried their 
dead, but they also considered the burial of the poor and of 
strangers as “ the last and greatest duty of love.” In times of 
persecution it was often necessary to perform the burial service 
at night, and as secretly as possible* but even then it was not 
neglected. This desire that the body should receive proper 
care and be decently interred was probably due in part to an 
instinctive feeling that it ought not to be neglected; but the idea 
was doubtless strengthened by a hope, dim and uncertain at 
first, but increasing in strength during the Old Testament dis¬ 
pensation and developing into a clear belief after the resurrec¬ 
tion of Christ, that a new life awaited it beyond the grave. 

The ancient Assyrians buried their dead, but this seems to 
have been done largely as a means of protection of the living. 


THE NATURE OF MAN 


87 

It was thought that if a body was allowed to remain unburied 
the soul would have no honest means of continuing its life and 
would return to its former home and trouble the people whom 
it had known when it was in the flesh. 

In some periods of their history the Greeks held that the soul 
would never find a home as long as the body remained unburied. 
Therefore they were very careful to bury their dead whenever 
it was possible to do so. If one of their friends perished at sea, 
and the body could not be recovered, a tomb was built and the 
name of the deceased was loudly called in hope that the soul 
might thus be induced to seek the home which had been pre¬ 
pared for its use. Many of the Romans believed that the souls 
of those whose bodies were not buried would be compelled to 
wander on the banks of the River Styx for one hundred years 
before they could cross over to the other side. This regard 
for the dead body was shared by the other nations of Europe, 
though the reasons for the respect which was paid to it varied 
greatly in the different countries in which it prevailed. 

Some primitive peoples have placed the bodies of their dead 
in trees, or upon scaffolds, where they would be reasonably 
secure from beasts of prey but would be destroyed Exposureto 
by the action of the elements. Others have fastened destructive 
the bodies in streams of running water until the flesh agenc,es ‘ 
was removed. Still others have buried them in large rivers or 
in the sea. For a long period it was a custom of people who 
lived near the Ganges to lay the remains of their dead upon the 
banks, when the water was low, so that with the rising of the sa¬ 
cred river the bodies, with all of their sins, might be washed away. 

The Parsees place the bodies of their dead on large stone 
structures which are called the Towers of Silence. The vul¬ 
tures, which are always abundant in these localities, quickly 
consume every particle of flesh, and the bones then fall through 
a grating upon the ground. This method is not adopted from 
any want of respect for the body but on account of the religious 
convictions of those who practice it. 

These people regard the earth, which produces their food, as 
holy, and think that it would be polluted by the burial of a dead 
body. They also consider fire one of the most sacred of all the 
elements, and even make it an object of worship. Therefore, to 
burn a dead body would be a flagrant act of profanation. 


88 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


In one of the ancient books of the Parsees the question, 
“ Where shall we lay the bones of the dear one,” is answered 
as follows: “ The worshipers of Mazda shall erect a building 
out of the reach of the dog, the fox, and the wolf, and wherein 
rain water cannot stay. Such a building shall they erect, if they 
can afford it, with stones, mortar, and earth. If they cannot 
afford it, they shall lay down the dead man, on the ground, on 
his carpet and his pillow, clothed with the light of heaven and 
beholding the sun.” 

It is impossible to tell at what time cremation, or the destruc¬ 
tion of the body by burning, was first resorted to, or what causes 
Cremation In led to its adoption. It is certain, however, that it 
eany times. wa s some times practiced by prehistoric peoples, and 

that to a limited extent it came into use at an early period in 
various civilized communities. It had come into extensive use 
in Europe at the opening of the Christian era, and it is probable 
that at about this period it commenced a very marked decline. 
For ages this method existed, and it is still followed, in coun¬ 
tries and communities in which it has been far from universal. 
As a rule, where cremation has been practiced, the ashes have 
received as much care as has, at the same period and in the 
same communities, been bestowed upon bodies which were 
buried in the ground. 

It is claimed that in India cremation was adopted in place of 
burial on account of a change in, or a development of, the pre¬ 
vailing religious belief. Many of the Greeks, it is said, preferred 
cremation because they thought that fire would remove the 
uncleanness which was inherent in a dead body, and would also 
free the soul from the gross matter in which it had been im¬ 
prisoned and allow it to soar to a home on high. They placed 
the body upon a pile of combustible materials and poured upon 
it ointments and perfumes. When the flames died out the coals 
were extinguished, and the ashes of the body, together with any 
bones which remained unburned, were carefully gathered and 
deposited in an urn. 

Much the same methods of cremation were followed by the 
Romans while they practiced this plan of disposing of the body. 
After being wrapped in cloth made of asbestos, which is not 
consumed by fire, the body was laid upon the pile and the near¬ 
est relative, with face averted, applied the torch. The ashes 


THE NATURE OF MAN 


89 

were carefully gathered. In many cases they were placed in 
sepulchres which were strewed with flowers and before which 
incense was freely burned. 

The Hebrews were strongly opposed to the cremation of the 
bodies of their friends. They seem to have regarded it as a 
means of utter destruction of all that had made the opposition to 
man. On this account they willingly burned the cremation ■ 
bodies of great criminals, and rejoiced when the bones of their 
enemies were thrown into the flames. 

As some of the heathen nations with which they came in con¬ 
tact practiced cremation, the early Christians seem to have in¬ 
ferred that this method of disposing of the bodies of the dead 
would partake of the irreligious nature of the people by whom 
the custom had been adopted. This fact unquestionably had 
much to do with their choice of the earlier method of burial. 
Yet this argument should have had but very little weight. In 
fact, it was hardly worthy of consideration. For cremation was 
to some extent practiced by people who were not heathen, while 
many others who had no knowledge of the true God preferred 
to bury rather than burn the bodies of their dead. 

Another and perhaps a more potent reason why the Christian 
people in early times disapproved of cremation is to be found in 
the fact that there prevailed among them a feeling that the 
burning of the body might interfere with, or possibly prevent, 
its resurrection. If their idea had been correct the martyrs who 
were burned at the stake for their fidelity to what they believed 
to be the truth would have miserably perished. But science 
has shown that this objection is entirely groundless. Whether 
it is buried or cremated, the body is eventually separated into 
the primal elements of which it was composed, and the particu¬ 
lar method by which the destruction of the organism is secured 
can have no effect whatever upon its future condition. When 
burial is practiced, the destructive process, which commences 
soon after death, goes steadily on, though sometimes it requires 
many years for its completion. By cremation the work which 
nature takes so long a time to perform is accomplished in a few 
hours. In the one case nature burns the body by the slow pro¬ 
cess of oxidation. In the other man burns it quickly by arti¬ 
ficial means. The body is as truly burned in the one case as it 
is in the other. 


90 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


Certain evils which are inseparable from burial in the vicinity 
of cities and towns, and which are not wholly unknown in less 
Dangers of thickly settled localities, have, in recent times, been 

banai. growing more and more apparent, and have caused 

a much greater degree of interest than they attracted at an ear¬ 
lier period. The progress of sanitary science has shown that 
the presence of bodies decaying in the soil may become a source 
of great danger to people living near burial-places. It has been 
proved that in many densely populated localities a great deal of 
sickness has been caused by the contamination of the drinking 
water and of the air by the decomposition of bodies in near-by 
cemeteries. Not a few cases of illness originated in this man¬ 
ner have had a fatal termination. Thus the dead have been 
allowed to become the means of destroying the living. The 
removal of bodies, which in cities sometimes becomes necessary, 
and which is occasionally done on a large scale, and the dese¬ 
cration of graves which often results from the encroachments 
of business interests, are minor evils, it is true, but are still of 
sufficient magnitude to be sincerely deplored. 

In the more open country the dangers to health from the 
burial of bodies are not wholly avoided, but they are slight as 
compared with those which threaten the residents of closely set¬ 
tled districts. There are fewer bodies to be buried in any one 
spot, the circulation of the air is much less obstructed, and, 
while an occasional well may be contaminated, the water supply 
of a large number of people is not rendered impure. In such 
localities, if dry ground is selected for the purpose, the evils of 
burial in the earth are reduced to their lowest terms. It is the 
most convenient, and, when all things pertaining to it are con¬ 
sidered, is perhaps the most desirable means of disposing of the 
dead body. 

With the increase of knowledge concerning the evils attend¬ 
ing the burial of bodies there has been awakened a great deal of 
increased interest interest in the subject of cremation. In the princi- 
in cremation. p a j countries of Europe it came into notice earlier, 
and has received a greater degree of attention than it has in the 
United States. Since 1882 this method of disposing of the 
dead body has been practiced in Paris to a considerable extent 
and has been rapidly growing in favor. In the year 1895 the 
number of bodies incinerated exceeded four thousand, and for 


THE NATURE OF MAN 


91 


several years past the proportion of cremations to the total num¬ 
ber of deaths has been about one in thirteen. In 1886 a society 
for the purpose of popularizing this method of disposing of the 
remains of the dead was organized in the United States. Its 
success was encouraging to the friends of the movement and 
led to the formation of other societies in all sections of the coun¬ 
try. In 1897 there were thirty-three crematories in operation, 
and wherever one had been established the society in charge 
was reported prosperous. 

It is a great mistake to suppose that cremation in Christian 
lands is practiced in the same manner as it was by the pagan 
nations of antiquity. The revolting features of pla- 

. 1 -i 1 r 1 mi . Modern methods. 

cing the body on a large pile of combustible materi¬ 
als and burning it in the open air, in the same way that refuse is 
often destroyed, are entirely done away. In cremation by mod¬ 
ern methods everything is as neat, orderly, and reverential as it 
can be with any method which answers the purpose for which 
incineration is performed. 

The body is not burned like wood placed upon a fire. Neither 
flame nor fuel is seen by the spectators. The reduction of the 
body to ashes is effected by oxygen which has been raised to a 
very high temperature and which forms such a chemical union 
with the elements of the body that, without the slightest contact 
with fire, it disappears as silently and quickly as snow wastes 
away when it is placed in the clear light of the sun. 

One of the principal crematories in this country is located on 
an eminence in a beautiful cemetery near Germantown, and in 
the city limits of Philadelphia. The building, which is quite 
ornamental, contains, in addition to the incinerating plant, a 
chapel which is capable of seating three hundred persons. In 
the walls a large number of niches are provided in which to 
place, either temporarily or permanently, the ashes of cremated 
bodies. 

When desired, a funeral service is held in the chapel. The 
body, lying in an ordinary coffin or casket, rests upon a cata¬ 
falque which, when the religious exercises are completed, is 
lowered, on an elevator, to the crematory. The coffin is then 
placed upon a traveler resting on a table which is mounted on 
wheels and stands on a track leading into the retort in which 
the incineration is to be performed. A white cloth, that has 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


92 

been made comparatively fire-proof by saturation in a strong 
solution of alum, is wrapped around the coffin to prevent the 
wood from igniting before it reaches its proper place. Then 
the door is opened, and the table with its burden is pushed into 
the retort, the walls of which present a reddened color caused 
by the intense heat to which they have been subjected. The 
table is then withdrawn and the door is closed so tightly that 
no air can enter and no gases can escape. Everything is so 
systematically arranged that all these preparations in the crema¬ 
tory occupy but very little time. In about three hours after the 
door of the retort is closed the coffin has been converted into 
charcoal and the body reduced to grayish white ashes. These 
are separated and the ashes are put into an urn, or a small 
bronze casket, and placed in a niche in the chapel, buried in the 
cemetery, or delivered to the relatives of the deceased, as they 
may choose. 

The method pursued in the crematory at Paris, which is the 
largest and most completely equipped one in the world, varies 
but little from that which has just been described. In Paris, 
however, the retort is heated to a higher temperature, about 
fifteen hundred degrees, and the process of reducing the body 
of an adult to ashes is completed in a little less than an hour. 
These ashes measure some three or four pints and weigh from 
two to two and a half pounds. In some cases they are placed 
in urns and removed by the relatives of the dead. In others 
they are put in urns which are placed in niches in the crematory 
which are bought with the privilege of perpetual use. But most 
of the poorer classes of people who have bodies incinerated hire 
niches for a term of five years. At the end of this period the 
ashes are turned from the urns into a common grave. 

For reasons which have already been indicated cremation is 
strongly recommended by many who have made a special study 
A sanitary of sanitary affairs. It is certainly free from some of 

measure - the evils which cannot be wholly separated from the 

burial of the body in the earth. But to many people it seems 
very repulsive, and some regard it as nothing less than sacri¬ 
legious. Many others take an entirely different view. Like 
the late Professor S. D. Gross of the University of Pennsylva¬ 
nia, they “ look upon incinerating the human body as a beautiful 
art in comparison with burying it.” Bishop Phillips Brooks 


THE NATURE OF MAN 


93 

expressed a belief “ that there are no true objections to the prac¬ 
tice of cremation, and a good many excellent reasons why it 
should become common; ” and Kate Field declared that “ cre¬ 
mation is not only the healthiest and cleanest, but the most 
poetical way of disposing of the dead.” Many other people, 
eminent in different professions, have held opinions similar to 
those which have been quoted, while perhaps a greater number, 
whose views are equally entitled to respect, have been firmly 
opposed to this method of treating the bodies of their departed 
friends. 

Where the conditions are such that only sentiment needs to 
be considered it is probable that in the majority of cases burial 
of the body will be preferred to cremation. In places sentiment in 
in which the burial of the dead would endanger the favor of buriaL 
health and threaten the life of the living, sentiment should yield 
to duty, and the safer method of cremation should if possible be 
adopted. To the departed it can make no difference whatever. 
But where burial is reasonably safe many who mourn will feel 
that it is far less sorrowful to allow the inevitable destruction of 
the body to be “wrought only by the gentle hand of Nature” 
than it is to accelerate the process by subjecting the tenement 
of clay to the more forcible action of fire. 

Without regard to the method which has been adopted for 
disposing of the dead body, it has always seemed necessary to 
set apart places in which the remains could be al- The last resting- 
lowed to rest permanently. Many of the Egyptians, place - 
and other people by whom embalming was practiced, kept the 
bodies of their relatives in their own homes for months, and 
sometimes for many years. Where cremation has been adopted 
the ashes of the dead have not infrequently been placed in the 
houses in which their kindred dwelt. But these have not been 
universal rules. In the vast majority of cases the embalmed 
bodies have been buried and the ashes of those which have been 
burned have been placed in caves or vaults, or, in common with 
bodies which have received no special treatment, interred in the 
cemeteries which were in common use for burial purposes. 

In Egypt, and near several European cities, extensive cata¬ 
combs, long galleries underground with excavations in the sides 
for tombs, may be found, while in every civilized land ceme¬ 
teries, or places set apart for the burial of bodies in the earth, are 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


94 

to be seen in all inhabited localities. In the vicinity of many of 
the great centres of population these cemeteries are so extensive 
as to really deserve the common name of “ cities of the dead.” 

The Jews were anxious to be buried in their own country, 
and after the dispersion it was not unusual for wealthy individ¬ 
uals of this race to send to the Holy Land for earth in which, 
after death, their bodies could repose. All religious people re¬ 
gard the burial-place as a sacred spot, and some denomina¬ 
tions of Christians perform an impressive service of consecration 
of the ground before any bodies are placed therein. Often, too, 
the cemetery is spoken of as “ God’s acre,” the conception being 
that of a field in which the bodies of His children “ are laid 
down as seed for eternity.” 

It was long supposed that the catacombs of Rome were ori¬ 
ginally sand-pits or quarries, but comparatively recent investiga¬ 
tions seem to prove that this theory was incorrect. 

The catacombs. . A 

They also indicate that these galleries were not, as 
has been quite generally believed, used as burial-places by both 
Christians and Pagans. The evidence is very strong that the 
catacombs “ were constructed by Christians in the earliest ages 
of Christianity for the burial of their own dead exclusively.” 1 

The catacombs of Egypt, in the vicinity of Thebes, occupy 
nearly the entire base of a mountain and are probably the most 
extensive in the world. In and near Rome there are more than 
fifty catacombs in which the bodies of not less than six millions 
of people have been interred. The catacombs of Paris are also 
very capacious. It is thought that there have been some three 
million interments therein. Near Naples, and in the vicinity of 
other cities in Southern Europe, there are catacombs which con¬ 
tain a vast number of tombs. 

The early Hebrews had their cemeteries beyond the bounds of 
their cities and towns. At a later period in the history of this 
Location of ceme- race many who could afford to do so had private 
teries. sepulchres. These were sometimes stone structures 

built in their gardens. Such was the tomb of Joseph of Ari- 
mathaea, in which the body of Christ was laid after His crucifix¬ 
ion. But instances of this kind were exceptional. The masses 
of the people were obliged to use the public cemeteries as their 
places for burial. 

1 H. M. Luckock, D. D., After Death, 


THE NATURE OF MAN 


95 

The early Christians often buried their dead near the church 
edifice. This custom prevailed to a considerable extent in 
Christian lands down to a very recent period, and in some retired 
places is still observed. It is supposed that this location was 
chosen partly because it would be convenient for worshipers 
who, on the Sabbath day, wished to visit the graves of their 
loved ones. Perhaps a still stronger motive was found in the 
then prevalent belief that those who were living in Christ and 
those who had died in His faith were really one congregation in 
the presence of God, and formed a great and an inseparable fel¬ 
lowship of saints. 

There is in the human mind a feeling, partly instinctive but 
greatly strengthened by intelligence and piety, that whenever it 
is possible the bodies of all the members of the Bu riaiwith 
family should be buried near each other. As they hindred - 
were together in life, their remains should not be widely sepa¬ 
rated after death. 

This desire was manifested at an early period in the history 
of the race, and has been continued through all the ages to the 
present day. Though by no means wanting in others, it has 
been particularly strong among religious people. The dying 
request of the Patriarch Jacob was that his body should not be 
interred in Egypt, but should be taken to the land of Canaan 
and be laid to rest in the burying-place of his fathers. Joseph, 
too, earnestly desired that his grave should not be made in 
Egypt, and even took an oath of the children of Israel that 
when God should lead them out of the land they would take 
with them his bones. 

The wish to be buried in one’s native land, and near to the 
graves of relatives and friends, will continue as long as death 
reigns in the world. Wherever it is possible to do so, the desire 
should be gratified. It is fitting that the bodies of those who 
have been closely connected in life by the ties of kindred and 
affection should rest together when life has closed. This prox¬ 
imity of the graves is still more ardently to be desired when 
there is reason to cherish the hope that there will be a complete 
reunion of the family in the resurrection of the just. 

The little girl whose earnest wish, as she was leaving the 
world, was that her mother should be buried by her side, was 
wise beyond her years, — 


96 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


One only wish she uttered, 

While life was ebbing fast, — 

Sleep by my side, dear mother, 

And rise with me at last.” 

The sentiment which she expressed is almost universal among 
the races which represent the higher types of humanity. It is 
fully approved by reason and has the sanction of religion. 

The adornment of cemeteries with trees and shrubs and flow¬ 
ers seems to have been common from very early times, and now 
Adornment of receives a still greater degree of attention than it 
cemeteries. has had ^ an y p rev ious period. It is well that this 
is the case. No place on earth should be more carefully tended 
than the one in which the bodies of the departed have been 
laid. Neglect of the graves of the dead shows that there is 
something wrong in the hearts of the living. It is not neces¬ 
sary, and is not always possible, to build imposing tombs or 
erect costly monuments. Sometimes, too, the living have re¬ 
moved far from the locality in which their dead were buried, 
and are seldom if ever able to visit the graves of those they 
loved. But unless separated by a distance which makes such 
attention impossible, the place of interment should be neatly 
kept, and flowers should be either grown or frequently placed 
upon the graves. 

At some times and in various places there has been a ten¬ 
dency to plant in cemeteries trees like the cypress and weeping 
willow, which are symbols of mourning, to the almost entire 
exclusion of those varieties which present a more cheerful 
appearance. Many of the Oriental people followed the far 
better plan of planting groves of many different kinds of trees, 
and of also putting out an abundance of shrubs and flowers. 
Thus they gave to the resting-places of their dead the appear¬ 
ance of ornamental grounds. 

In the vicinity of nearly all cities and towns there are ceme¬ 
teries which, in addition to their many natural attractions, have 
been beautified by the planting of trees and flowers, the forma¬ 
tion of artificial lakes, and by various other means which the 
landscape gardener is able to employ. And in many rural places 
there are cemeteries on beautiful hillsides and in peaceful val¬ 
leys which have been laid out with such exquisite taste, and so 
appropriately adorned both by nature and by man, that even for 
the casual observer they have an unspeakable charm. 


THE PYRAMIDS OF GIZEH. (THE GREAT PYRAMID IS THE LARGEST TOMB IN THE WORLD.) 























■ 





































A 
















































































































' 










THE NATURE OF MAN 


97 

From early times it has been a very common custom to per¬ 
petuate the memory of the dead by the erection of slabs or 
monuments or the building of tombs. Sometimes Tombs and monu . 
these memorials have been massive constructions, ments ’ 
like the pyramids of Egypt. In other cases they have been 
simple slabs or pillars of stone, or masses of rough stones piled 
together. Rude tombs which were constructed by the ancient 
races of Europe and America may still be found in various 
localities. 

Of all the people of early times, the Egyptians paid the great¬ 
est degree of attention to the providing of permanent resting- 
places for the dead. An ancient writer, noting the great differ¬ 
ence between the plain homes of the living and the beautifully 
adorned tombs for the dead, explained the contrast by saying 
that “ the Egyptians call the houses of the living ‘ inns ’ because 
for a short space only we inhabit there, but the sepulchres of 
the dead they call ‘eternal mansions,’ because they continue 
with the gods for an indefinite space.” These tombs were built 
in the desert or cut sometimes for long distances into the hills 
or mountains. In all cases they were beyond the fields that were 
suitable for cultivation. 

The tombs of Egypt were not merely and only the places in 
which the bodies of the dead reposed. They were also the sanc¬ 
tuaries of the living. In many respects, too, the tomb resembled 
a house. It contained two or more rooms, each of which was 
set apart for a specific purpose. In one of them the priests 
performed the services required for the dead. In the one used 
as a sepulchre was a stone sarcophagus in which the body was 
laid. When the funeral services were completed, the entrance 
to this chamber was permanently closed. 

Within the tomb quite a variety of articles were placed. The 
claim has been made that seeds which have been buried for 
thousands of years have been taken from these tombs, and upon 
being planted have germinated and produced a crop of grain. 
In cases in which this phenomenon, which if genuine would be 
almost miraculous, have been described, it is probable that the 
crafty Arab guides had substituted fresh seeds for those which 
had actually been buried with the mummy. It is certain that 
many carefully conducted experiments with seeds known to 
have been placed in the tombs with the bodies of the dead have 
7 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


98 

utterly failed to show that they possessed the slightest degree 
of vitality. 

Not infrequently the figures of some of the gods which the 
people worshiped were placed in the tombs, and extracts from 
the “ Book of the Dead,” which were written upon papyrus, 
were hung upon the walls. The tombs of kings and of wealthy 
people were adorned by paintings and sculptures, and bore 
many inscriptions relating to the future life. The tomb was 
usually prepared during the lifetime of the one who was to be 
buried therein. Indeed, it seems to have been considered of 
greater importance to provide a superior place for the body after 
death than it was to maintain a comfortable home during life. 

In modern times it is customary either to provide a tomb or 
to mark the last resting-place of relatives with a stone or monu¬ 
ment. These mementos vary from a simple and inexpensive 
slab of marble, or even of slate, to the elaborate and beautifully 
carved monument costing many thousands of dollars. The in¬ 
scriptions which are carved thereon vary as greatly as do the 
materials and forms of the memorials upon which they appear. 
The name of the deceased with the date of birth and death are 
in very many cases all that is inscribed. Frequently there is 
added a text of Scripture, a verse of poetry, a pointed moral, or 
a brief admonition. In other instances there is a statement of 
the notable deeds and an enumeration of the virtues of the 
deceased. 

The desire to mark the graves of our loved ones with some 
memorial that shall remain at least as long as the members 
of the immediate family survive is entirely reasonable, though 
excessive expenditure in this direction seems to be unwise. 
The course of several wealthy people who have endowed hospi¬ 
tals or educational institutions in memory of their dead is cer¬ 
tainly of greater benefit to the world, and far more truly honors 
the departed than the erection of the most elaborate tombs or 
the most beautiful monuments. 

The best memorial, and the one which most affects the hearts 
and lives of others, is a good character. The “ imperishable 
granite ” upon which the name is carved will waste away, but 
the influence of the individual for good or ill will go down the 
ages and will work out its legitimate result without the slightest 
regard to the appearance or the cost of the monument which 


L. ,tc. 


THE NATURE OF MAN 


99 

relatives erect in his honor. Strangers care but little for the 
flattering inscriptions which are sometimes seen upon slabs and 
tombs, and those who knew the departed will remember him 
only by what he has been and what he has done during his 
earthly life. If it was a bad life the evil growing out of it will 
be perpetuated. If it was a noble life the influence which it 
exerted for good will not cease at death. In every such case it 
will prove true that 

“ The sweet remembrance of the just 
Shall flourish when he sleeps in dust.” 

It is an altogether too general feeling that we leave our dead 
in their graves and that there they await the resurrection which 
is to come in a dim and distant future. This is a 

t* _ , . Not the real home. 

great mistake. It is only the body that finds its last 
resting-place in the ground. The former occupant had left it 
before it was buried. 

We do well to care for the grave because the body which we 
placed therein was once a part of one whom we knew and loved, 
and was the instrument through which all of his communica¬ 
tions with us were carried on. Then, too, it was, to some extent, 
the pattern of a body in which we hope to see him hereafter. 
But at present he has no connection with what was, during his 
earthly life, the material part of his nature. That abides in the 
earth. The person to whom it belonged has either perished in 
death, or else, as there is satisfactory reason to believe, he has 
entered another and an entirely different realm. 


CHAPTER VIII 


THE LAST RITES 

For a long period it was customary in England to toll the 
church bell when a person in the vicinity was dying. It is 
thought that this was done for the double purpose 
of affording pious people an opportunity to pray tor 
the peace of the departing soul and of frightening away the evil 
spirits which were supposed to be hovering around the bed of 
death. After a time this plan was discarded, but the bell was 
tolled soon after a death had occurred. This method of show¬ 
ing respect for the dead, and of informing the community that 
one who had dwelt in the vicinity had passed away, long pre¬ 
vailed in this country. It necessarily fell into disuse in large 
centres of population, and was gradually discontinued in the 
smaller towns and villages. In rural districts, however, the 
custom was observed until a very recent period and may still 
persist in some localities. 

The method followed was not the same in all places. In 
some sections the bell was struck once or twice per minute for 
some five minutes. In others it was slowly tolled, giving from 
twenty to thirty strokes each minute. After a brief interval the 
person in charge again struck the bell. In some places the 
number of strokes indicated the sex of the person who had died. 
In others one stroke was given for each year that the person 
had lived. In some localities the bell was tolled soon after a 
death occurred. In others this service was performed early in 
the morning or at sunset. 

It has long been customary to place upon or near the door 
of the house in which a person had died some emblem which 
other methods of would inform all who passed by that one, who once 
lived therein, had been called from the world. The 
Romans often used branches of cypress for this purpose. Other 
peoples have had special tokens to indicate the presence of death 
in the home. In our own time and land the custom of placing 


THE NATURE OF MAN 


IOI 


crape upon the door of the home, and, in the case of people of 
prominence, of draping the office or place of business, is too 
common to need description. Flowers, too, are sometimes used. 

Among the Irish, and formerly in Scotland, it was for a long 
time customary for a large number of the friends to gather at 
the late home and watch all night with the body of watching with 
the dead. Loud wailings and lamentations were thebody - 
uttered, and there was more or less drinking. It is thought that 
this service, which is called a wake, originated in a fear that evil 
spirits would injure or carry away the body, though it was con¬ 
tinued long after this superstition was generally dispelled. Dur¬ 
ing the past half century, however, its observance has greatly 
declined. 

It was also common for members of other religious denomina¬ 
tions to have one or two neighbors watch with the dead body at 
night, and it is probable that this custom is still continued in 
many country districts in which it is not convenient to secure 
the aid of an undertaker. In such cases it is often desirable to 
keep the face wet with a solution which will retard decomposi¬ 
tion and prevent a marked change in the appearance of the 
features. This service was attended to by the watchers, who also 
rendered whatever aid they could to the afflicted family, and 
whose mere presence in the house at such a time was often a 
great relief to people living in thinly settled localities. 

From early times it has been customary to observe various 
forms and ceremonies before and at the time of the interment 
or cremation of the dead body. These ceremonies Funeraf 
have sometimes been very plain and simple. In ceremonies ’ 
other cases they have been showy and elaborate. To be de¬ 
prived of all funeral rites has been regarded as a great evil. 
Among the ancient Greeks and Romans the punishment of 
certain classes of criminals was increased by a decree that no 
ceremonies should be performed after the sentence of death had 
been executed. Among all civilized nations, and particularly 
among religious people, neglect to hold some kind of a funeral 
service has usually been regarded as a great disrespect to the 
dead. 

The major part of the funeral ceremonies are performed dur¬ 
ing the interval between death and the close of the services 
attending the final disposition of the remains. In hot climates 


102 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


burial, or some other method of removing the body from sight, is 
rime of necessarily practiced much sooner after death than 

observance. ft ft required in cooler regions, though, with a few 
exceptions, no uniform period is observed over any large extent 
of country. Some of the ancient nations were governed in this 
matter partly by the rank of the deceased. In our own times 
the funerals of distinguished people are sometimes delayed 
longer than are those for private individuals, but the holding of 
memorial services upon some succeeding Sabbath, or anniver¬ 
sary, seems to be superseding this practice. The time of observ¬ 
ance is largely a matter of convenience, though like many other 
affairs in which communities as well as individuals and families 
are interested, it is subject to changes of custom, the reasons for 
which are not always apparent. In many cases, too, it depends 
somewhat upon the character of the disease from which the per¬ 
son died and of the means, if any, which are taken to retard the 
process of decomposition of the body. 

Among the Hindus ancient customs still prevail to a great 
extent. When a person dies the relatives and friends are 

promptly summoned to the house in which the 

Hindu customs. A J , 

death has occurred. They immediately procure the 
few materials which are needed and take entire charge of pre¬ 
parations for the funeral. Whenever possible a son of the 
deceased is an active participant in the ceremonies. If there is 
no son another person is selected and, with various formalities, 
is set apart to represent the relationship. When a son is living 
but cannot be present, some male relative must act in his stead. 
While the body is being prepared for removal, a priest recites 
appropriate hyms from the Vedas, the sacred books of the Hin¬ 
dus. When the preparations are completed, the body is put 
upon a bier and a lighted lamp is placed where it had lain since 
death occurred. 

Friends then carry the bier to the spot where the body is to 
be burned. The son, or the person who represents him, leads 
the procession, and carries a small earthen pot in which the 
sacred fire with which the pile is to be ignited is burning. The 
pile is quickly constructed by the relatives and friends who have 
accompanied the remains. As the body is being placed in posi¬ 
tion for burning, sacred hymns are repeated and prayers are 
offered. After he has walked around it three times, the son, or 


THE NATURE OF MAN 


103 

chief mourner, sets fire to the pile. All who are present at the 
ceremony remain until the body is consumed, usually about 
three hours. Then in the name of the deceased each pours 
some water on the spot, after which they bathe, visit the late 
residence of the departed to see the lamp which they had left 
burning therein, and in a short time proceed to their homes. 

When burial instead of cremation was practiced, the body 
was prepared in a manner similar to that described, and reli¬ 
gious rites were performed. Relatives and friends went to the 
place of burial, where still further services were held. The fol¬ 
lowing extract is from a prayer which it was customary to repeat 
at the grave: “ Open thyself, O earth! Be accessible to the 
dead! As a mother covereth her son with a garment, so cover 
him, O ground! ” 

Among the Parsees preparations for the funeral are com¬ 
menced when it is found that death must soon occur. The 
body of the dying person is washed and dressed in 

J J 0 ^ j-he Parser form. 

clean garments. Prayers are offered and texts from 
the sacred books are recited. If the dying one is unable to join 
in this service, he is represented by a near relative. When life 
departs, the body is laid upon a stone which has been placed in 
readiness on the floor. Women remain as watchers near the 
body. 

If death occurs in the daytime the body is removed before the 
sun goes down. If in the night, the removal is delayed until 
the next morning. When the time for the funeral arrives, the 
body is placed upon an iron bier, and two priests preach to and 
exhort the mourners. At the conclusion of their remarks a 
white shroud is placed over the body, which the bearers then 
carry to the Towers of Silence. The procession moves on foot, 
and when near its destination halts at a low building, which is 
open upon all sides, in which prayers for the dead are offered 
and various other religious services are performed. The face of 
the dead person is then uncovered in order that those in attend¬ 
ance may look upon it for the last time. It is soon covered, and 
the bearers carry the body into a tower, where it is left to be 
consumed by the birds of prey which abound in the vicinity. 
After washing their hands and faces the priests and mourners 
pray for the soul of the deceased and then return to their homes. 

In ancient Egypt after the body was embalmed it was brought 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


104 


before forty-two judges, or “ assessors,” of the dead, who carefully 
Egyptian inquired concerning the life of the deceased and 

ceremonials. heard testimony, both for and against him, that any 

one chose to offer. Each of these judges took note of a special 
sin. Consequently, defense had to be made upon forty-two dif¬ 
ferent points. If it was decided that the deceased person had 
lived a bad life the burial of his body in the public place for 
interments was denied. If the life had been pure the desired 
permission for burial was given. The body was then placed 
upon a funeral barge and rowed across the lake which lay be¬ 
tween the city and the cemetery. All this was symbolical of 
what was supposed to take place in the spiritual world in which 
Osiris was the supreme judge of the dead. 

It is a custom of the Mohammedans to send for a religious 
teacher when death appears to be close at hand. Upon his 
Among the arrival he reads aloud from the Koran concerning 

Mohammedans. the resurrection. In some cases those who are at¬ 

tending the dying person also read selections from the same 
book. 

When death occurs the mouth is closed, the great toes are 
tied together, and the air of the room is purified by the burning 
of incense. The body is washed and enveloped in a shroud. 
While these things are being done various ceremonies are per¬ 
formed. The poorer people are buried simply in a shroud, but 
the bodies of wealthy people are inclosed in coffins. The body 
is placed so that the face will look in the direction of Mecca. 
Several creeds are recited at the grave, and after the burial is 
completed prayers are offered for the dead. 

The funerals of the early Jews were attended by relatives and 
friends who made many and long-continued lamentations. In 

common with other ancient peoples they also hired 

Jewish funerals. . 1 A ^ 

professional mourners. When a distinguished per¬ 
son was buried a poem was recited or an oration was made in 
some public place. 

The ancient Greeks and Romans held public services in 
honor of their dead. The Roman ceremonials were elaborate 
Greek and Roman and imposing. An invitation to attend the funeral 
services. was sent; out by a herald. The procession to the 
grave was led by musicians, behind whom came many hired 
mourners. The body was followed by the relatives of the de- 


THE NATURE OF MAN 


105 

ceased. In many cases these relatives wore masks resembling 
their illustrious ancestors. Thus they endeavored to bring the 
glory of the past into close connection with the present, and 
indicated a firm belief in the continued existence of the family 
and the state. Both Greeks and Romans had orations and vari¬ 
ous elaborate ceremonies at, or immediately following, the funer¬ 
als of their rulers and eminent men. Public games, athletic 
sports, and even contests of gladiators, were not uncommon 
upon such occasions. 

An early and long-observed custom among various nations 
was the offering of sacrifices of animals, and often of human 
beings, when funeral services were held. In the sacrifices, songs, 
cases of savage and barbarous races these offerings and f easts - 
were probably made in the belief that thereby the departed 
would be provided with servants and companions in the land to 
which they had gone. When followed by more civilized peo¬ 
ples the sacrifices were, in part at least, made as a mark of 
respect to the dead, though there was, doubtless, also a feeling 
that in some way they would be of practical benefit to the de¬ 
ceased. The Romans seem to have regarded their ancestors as 
gods, and the sacrifices and offerings which they made at the 
grave or tomb probably had a higher meaning than has some¬ 
times been credited to them. The Greeks, also, appear to have 
attached a religious significance to their funeral sacrifices. 
They not only provided offerings and libations at the time of 
the funeral, but it is said that on anniversary days they “paid 
their devotions to the dead.” 

At various times and among different peoples it has been 
customary to follow the dead to their last resting-place with 
songs. The reason for this simulation of joy, where sorrow 
must have been the dominant sentiment of the heart, is to be 
found in a form of belief which these people held in regard to 
the condition of the soul immediately after death. It was sup¬ 
posed that the mourning of friends upon earth would be a 
source of grief to the departed, while singing and demonstra¬ 
tions of peace and comfort on the part of the survivors would 
enhance the joy of the spirit in its new abode. 

The feasts which from early times and in many countries 
have followed funeral services seem originally to have been made 
partly for the benefit of the dead. Frequently a banquet was 
7 * 


io6 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


held at the house of a near relative, and a supply of food was 
placed upon the grave or tomb of the deceased. In various 
European countries it was customary until a quite recent period 
to provide a feast of which the relatives and friends partook 
soon after the burial. When distinguished or very wealthy peo¬ 
ple died these entertainments were often marked by great ex¬ 
travagance. On a more limited scale than was common in 
England and Scotland this custom was observed in some parts 
of the United States for a long period, and there are probably 
many communities in which it is not yet wholly extinct. 

In the early days of Christianity the dead body was carefully 
prepared for burial. The funeral services were held at night. 
Eany Christian This time was probably chosen in deference to the 
customs. belief of their pagan neighbors that the carrying of 

a body out of doors when the sun was shining would make the 
air impure. The rites while not lacking in solemnity were 
entirely free from gloom. Even in times of extreme peril from 
persecution, when the survivors were threatened with torture 
and death, the funeral exercises were of an almost cheerful 
nature. This, because the Christians of that time regarded 
death as merely a sleep which opened the way to a new life. In 
their view the departed had not perished but had entered upon 
a higher and better state of existence than they had or could 
have had on earth. Death was not considered an enemy, but 
was looked upon as a kind and helpful friend. The body was 
followed to the grave by Christians of all ages, who carried 
torches and sang psalms and hymns. When the body of one of 
the great leaders of their faith was to be buried the procession 
moved in an orderly manner, but “ with lights and songs,” and 
with solemn joy, as though they were celebrating the triumph 
of him who had died. 

In pagan lands the form of service which is observed at the 
burial or cremation of the dead body very closely resembles 
Modem funerals ^at h as prevailed in the ages that have 

passed. In Christian countries there is a consider¬ 
able difference as to details, but the main features of the cere¬ 
mony have a very close resemblance. 

Wherever the doctrines of the Christian religion are made 
the rule of life and practice, the body is carefully prepared for 
its final disposition, and religious services are held before it is 


THE NATURE OF MAN 


107 

removed forever from human sight. Members of the Roman 
Catholic church place a crucifix in the hand or at the feet of 
the dead as soon as life is extinct, but Protestants do not 
observe any special rites at this time. The body is usually 
cared for by an undertaker, or, as is sometimes necessary in 
sparsely settled localities, by friends of the afflicted family. 
Before the time appointed for the funeral arrives it is covered 
with a shroud or dressed in clothing similar to that which was 
worn during life. 

The funeral service is often attended at the house in which 
the deceased had lived, though in a great number of cases it is 
held in the church which the individual had attended or with 
which some members of the family are connected. This service 
may be simple or elaborate as the particular circumstances of 
the occasion may require. In all cases selections from the 
Scriptures are read and prayer is offered. Often hymns are 
sung, and sometimes there is instrumental music. Many pastors 
preach a sermon appropriate to the occasion. Others make a 
brief address. Not infrequently the remarks are largely in the 
nature of a eulogy of the deceased. In some denominations 
there is a prescribed form for conducting the exercises. 

When the service is closed the remains are viewed by the 
friends and relatives. The coffin is then placed in a hearse, 
which is generally of a deep black color, though for infants and 
young children a white one is used in some localities, and taken 
to the cemetery. The relatives, and often many acquaintances, 
follow in carriages provided for the purpose. 

At the grave the services are usually brief. Here, also, some 
denominations have a form which is more elaborate than are 
those which are followed by churches which do not services in the 
use a ritual. Some Masonic societies and other cemeter y- 
secret organizations have elaborate and imposing ceremonies at 
the burial of their members. 

When the procession has reached the place of interment the 
relatives and friends gather around the open grave. Four 
bearers then gently lower the body to its last resting-place. In 
some forms of service a little earth is thrown upon the coffin, 
and the minister recites a form in which those present commit 
the “ body to the ground; earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to 
dust.” Many who conduct funeral services do not throw earth 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


;o8 

into the grave, and do not make the formal commitment of the 
body until just before the benediction is pronounced. There 
are various forms employed in these parts of the service. One 
of the sweetest and most impressive that I ever heard was used 
by a beloved pastor and friend, in the days of my boyhood, who 
long since passed away. As nearly as I can recall after the 
lapse of many years, it was as follows: “ And now we commit 
the body of our departed friend to the grave to await the resur¬ 
rection. May ‘ the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the 
love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost,’ be and 
abide with us all, and especially with these mourners, forever. 
Amen.” 

It has from the earliest times been common for those from 
whom relatives had been taken by death to make some outward 
symbols of manifestation of their grief. The customs of differ- 

mourning. en t p e0 ples have, however, varied as widely in this 

respect as they have regarding any other matters pertaining to 
death. In the East it was common to put dust or ashes on the 
head, to beat the breast and rend the garments, and tear or 
shave the hair or beard. Sackcloth was often worn, and loud 
cries were made. The Jews were forbidden to disfigure their 
faces, as many of the neighboring nations were accustomed to 
do, but they made loud lamentations and continued their mourn¬ 
ing for seven days. In the cases of distinguished men the 
mourning ceremonies were observed for thirty days. The Greeks 
cut off the hair, and sometimes the beard, put on coarse gar¬ 
ments made of some black material, and remained in seclusion 
for from ten to thirty days after the death of a near relative. The 
Romans also put on mourning garments when a death occurred 
in their families. These were worn only a few days by the men, 
but the women continued to dress in mourning much longer. 

In modern times mourning garments of various forms and 
shades, which are largely determined by the relationship of the 
bereaved to the deceased, are worn in all countries that can 
lay claim to civilization. The length of time which the mourn¬ 
ing clothes are worn also depends upon whether a near or a 
distant relative has died. The particular color which is chosen 
as an emblem of sorrow varies from white, which is worn in 
China, to a deep black, which is used in the United States and 
some European countries. 


THE NATURE OF MAN 


IO9 

In many localities the wearing of mourning garments has 
been carried to a great excess. It involves an expense which 
many families can ill afford, and in not a few in- Toofreely 
stances it causes great hardship. Respect and 
affection for the dead can be just as fully exhibited in a simpler 
and a more tasteful manner. In some places there is a marked 
tendency toward a far less rigid observance of the custom of 
wearing “ the trappings and the suits of woe ” for a long period 
after the death of a near relative. 

While much may be said on the score of taste and expense 
against the excessive use of garments which are designed to 
indicate that the wearer has been deeply afflicted, Not consistent 
the greatest objection to such a course by Christian with reli ^ ion - 
people is to be found in the fact that it is entirely out of har¬ 
mony with the principles of the religion which they profess. It 
is true that no degree of piety can or should keep us from 
mourning when our dear ones are called away. Not to feel 
sorrow at such a time would be as foreign to the spirit and 
teachings of Christ as it would be to the common sentiments of 
humanity. Neither is the outward manifestation of sorrow in a 
seemly manner to be condemned. But wild and unrestrained 
exhibitions of grief, and indications of utter woe, do not seem to 
be consistent with the faith of the Christian. He is counseled 
not to sorrow “ even as the rest, which have no hope.” He 
believes that the friends who have died in faith are at rest with 
the Saviour, and that ere long he will meet them again, to be 
parted from them no more by death. This faith should so 
sustain the soul in the time of bereavement as not only to give 
comfort to those who mourn, but it should also enable them to 
exhibit to the world the helpful and hopeful spirit of the religion 
of Christ. 



THE MAGNIFICENT EARTHLY HOME OF AN ASSYRIAN KING, 































































PART II 


THE RELATION OF DEATH TO 
EXISTENCE 


CHAPTER IX 

THE QUESTION OF THE AGES 

In preceding chapters some of the causes and effects of physi¬ 
cal death have been described. We have seen that when life 
departs, the body, in which and through which its T hebody 
power had been manifested, falls into decay. The destr °y ed • 
process of its dissolution may be delayed, but it cannot be pre¬ 
vented. Sooner or later the body will be separated into the 
various elements of which it has been formed. In the hour of 
death the doom of the earthly tabernacle is sealed. 

As we look upon the ruin which death has wrought, we ask 
ourselves if this is the final chapter in the history of the indi¬ 
vidual by whose silent and helpless form we stand. _ 

J ... r .. A . c . .The great problem. 

We wonder if from this great wreck of humanity 
anything has been or can be saved. And as we think of our 
own fate, and realize that we too must die, we are still more 
profoundly moved. The question of where we shall be, if any¬ 
where, after our bodies are still in death, is one which we must 
consider. It may not be a pleasant topic, and we may try to 
keep it from our minds, but at more or less frequent intervals 
it will force itself upon our attention. 

In the presence of the dead we are brought face to face with 
the great problem which men in all ages have endeavored to 
solve. It is stated in various ways, but its meaning is the same 
everywhere. It is one and the same thought, whether it is ex¬ 
pressed in the question of the ancient patriarch, “ If a man die, 
shall he live again ? ” or uttered in the language of the modern 
investigator who asks, “ Does death end all ? ” It has the same 



I 12 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


deep meaning when asked, perhaps in signs or in broken lan¬ 
guage, by savage and barbarous peoples as it does when it 
engages the attention of the most cultivated and refined inhab¬ 
itants of the earth. It is a frequent subject of thought with 
those whose mental powers are but slightly developed as well as 
with those who have been highly educated. It does not depend 
upon culture or piety, but is something that naturally and per¬ 
sistently forces itself upon the minds of men. Perhaps it would 
be too much to claim that it has been absolutely universal, for 
there may have been individual exceptions; but it is not going 
beyond the truth to say that the desire for knowledge regarding 
the condition of man after his body is dead has been common 
to all races and all times. 

It is not at all strange that men are anxious to learn whether 
those whom they have known and loved on earth, and whose 
An important bodies they have laid in the grave, still survive. 
questiM. Love does not perish with the death of the object of 

affection. However deep our interest in the living may be, we 
cannot and we should not forget our dead. Then, too, the 
question concerning the fate of the departed has the deepest 
possible personal significance. For what has, in this respect, 
befallen them will surely befall ourselves. If their life persists 
we shall live beyond the grave. If they have perished we, too, 
shall be blotted out of existence when we die. So the question 
of what really occurs at death, and what, if anything, follows the 
cessation of life, is one of vast importance. It will make an 
immense, and perhaps an infinite, difference with each and every 
individual whether all life ends when the body dies, or whether 
the death of the physical man is only an event through which 
the real person passes without being destroyed. 

The body, we know, must perish. It is a solemn fact, but it 
is absolute and irrevocable. Nothing is to be gained by attempt¬ 
ing to put the thought from our minds. It may not be pleasant, 
but it certainly is true. Yet though it seems so important, the 
destruction of the body is of but the slightest moment as com¬ 
pared with the effect which death will have upon the personal 
existence. 

In our consideration of the effect of death upon the human 
being we have seen the most striking indications that it is utterly 
destructive. As far as merely human investigation can demon- 


ARCH OF TITUS AND COLISEUM, ROME 






WM: 


m 'H 


wm. 


mm 

■ Ys//SsY. 


wm 

mm 






wm$m 

ilm'Ky, 


wm 

wM. 


Wm 


m . I 




wmMm 

WWMmk 

WMm 


mm. 


WIft&mm 

WpWw^ 

■-.• '■■.■//.'. ■s.s/.fr'AmtSKy/,}(6t 

KWH 











































* 




































































* 






THE RELATION OF DEATH TO EXISTENCE 11 3 

strate, the wreck can never be repaired. The body, as such, cer¬ 
tainly passes out of existence. No human power can Apparently the 
prevent its decay. Unless it is artificially preserved end * 
it soon yields to the destructive forces by which it is at once 
assailed when life becomes extinct. Even with the utmost care 
it can be kept intact for only a very limited period. And when 
embalmed in the most perfect manner possible, though the 
mummy may be kept for thousands of years, it will crumble into 
dust in a short time after it is exposed to the air. Even in this 
case only a part of the body is preserved. The most quickly 
perishable portions are removed during the process of embalm¬ 
ing. Do what we will to prevent it, the body will eventually be 
separated into its simple elements. Then, in the natural order 
of things, these elements will pass into new combinations. In 
the process of time the substance of which human bodies were 
formed may become parts of trees or plants, or may even enter 
into animal organizations. As far as our senses can discern, 
death brings extinction of the personal existence. 

Some years ago Bishop Foster was severely criticised by 
many religious people for the statement that “ truth demands 
that we should make the confession that we do not Positive proof 
know that death does not end all.” But he only wanting - 
embodied in that single sentence the results of careful and long- 
continued study of the subject upon which he was speaking. 
Other equally able and conscientious students, men who, like 
himself, have had faith in God and who firmly believed in a 
future life for man, have reached the same conclusion. And 
though new indications that there is a life beyond are being 
brought to light by the researches of scientists and the investi¬ 
gations of philosophers, it still remains true that absolute proof 
that life persists beyond the grave has not been obtained. On 
the other hand it must be said that there is also a want of proof 
that life does not continue after the body is destroyed. The 
influence of death upon the higher nature of man is one of those 
matters which are not susceptible of proof in the way and to 
the extent to which we can prove things with which we come 
into direct contact, and concerning which we can obtain definite 
knowledge. The subject lies upon another plane, and is gov¬ 
erned by widely different conditions from those which control 

in material affairs. 

8 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


I 14 

Though it must be admitted that we have no absolute proof 
that life is continued after death occurs, there is a degree of 
a sufficient degree probability, that practically amounts to a certainty, 
of probability, that suc h the case# This j s a conc l us i 0 n to which 
many who have studied the subject in all of its bearings have 
come. It is true that in part we have to walk by faith rather 
than by sight. But it is not infrequently the case that faith is 
the safer guide. Our bodily senses often deceive us as to mat¬ 
ters in the physical world. Even in this lower sphere we have 
to make constant use of faith in order that we may arrive at the 
truth. In the higher realm our spiritual perceptions may be, 
and probably are, much more reliable than is the testimony of 
our bodily organs concerning matters in the world around us. 
Reasoning from what we know, we are led to believe in a future 
life. The evidences are varied and, when combined, are con¬ 
vincing. The probabilities are overwhelming. We need not 
hesitate to affirm that man lives beyond the grave. 


CHAPTER X 


COMMON BELIEF IN A FUTURE LIFE 

In all ages and among all the various tribes and races of men 
the belief has been common that death does not involve the 
destruction of the human being. The form of this Genera „ y 
belief has varied greatly. There has also been a acce f )ted - 
great difference in the degree of clearness and tenacity with 
which the opinion has been held. But it would not be claiming 
too much to say that such a hope — probably we might safely 
say such a belief — has been common to the race. 

This belief is very largely intuitive. Multitudes of people 
who have had no direct revelation and no system of philosophy, 
and who have known nothing of civilization, have An intuitive 
had an expectation that after the death of the body belief - 
the real person would exist, in another place and in a different 
form, but just as truly as he ever lived upon the earth. 

It has been said that communities have been found in which 
the people had no conception of a state of existence after death. 
The claim has also been made that where a belief in a future 
life has been held by savage tribes it was not intuitive, but had 
either been handed down by ancestors who had received a direct 
revelation, or else had been gradually developed during a long 
period of time. 

The weight of evidence seems to be strongly against the first 
of these conclusions. In some instances a more intimate ac¬ 
quaintance with the tribes which were supposed to be without 
the idea of a future life has proved that the first impression was 
wholly erroneous. It is probable that further investigation 
would lead to a similar change of opinion in other cases. But 
even if it could be shown that there are tribes who now have no 
religious ideas, it would not follow that they never had a belief 
in a future existence of the soul. History shows that various 
peoples have declined in power and intelligence. It is not 
impossible that they have lost certain forms of religious beliefs. 


Il6 LIFE TRIUMPHANT 

It is probable that with the lower races who now believe in a 
future life the idea is partly intuitive and partly inherited. It is 
reasonable to suppose that some dim conception of this great 
truth might come to the mind of the savage as he looked upon 
the form of a dead companion and wondered what would be the 
outcome of the great change which death had wrought. And it 
is not impossible that in some cases the belief is a survival of an 
idea which has been handed down from an early period in the 
history of man upon the earth, but which has been losing its 
influence as the ages have passed by. This seems to be far 
more probable than the theory that the belief has been increas¬ 
ing in strength. If there had been a development of such a 
grand idea as the existence of the soul after its separation from 
the body, it would certainly have been accompanied by a 
marked degree of progress in other directions along which no 
change for the better can be discerned. 

There is convincing evidence that various prehistoric races 
believed in the continued existence of the individual who had 
prehistoric come under the power of death. They had various 

peoples. customs which can be explained in no other way. 

They not only buried the body, but they placed on or near the 
grave articles which the deceased had owned during life, and 
which the survivors supposed might be useful to him in his new 
home. The custom of trepanning, which was common among 
some of these peoples, also indicated a belief in a life to come. 

The savage races of whose customs we have obtained definite 
knowledge have, like those of the present day, looked forward 

to a life after death. The views of these people are 

Savage races. . t . A 1 

in many cases vague and almost childish, and they 
vary a great deal as to details, but there is a general agreement 
upon the main point that death, under ordinary circumstances, 
does not annihilate the human being. 

When a chief died his wives were slain, in order that they 
might bear him company in the place to which he had gone. 
Slaves and animals were also killed, so that he could command 
their services, as he had done before his death. Some of the 
African tribes lived in great fear that departed spirits would 
return to earth and cause them trouble. It is said that in some 
cases this fear has been so great as to lead them to throw the 
dead into the water in hope of drowning both body and soul. 


THE RELATION OF DEATH TO EXISTENCE 117 

The numerous tribes of North American Indians, while varying 
somewhat as to minor points, were fully convinced that the end 
of human existence was not reached at death. And so, almost 
without exception, we might name all savage races as believers 
in a future life. 

Among the nations of antiquity the Egyptians easily held 
the foremost place. Their learning far surpassed that of any of 
their contemporaries, and some of their works are The ancient 
even now among the wonders of the world. We E ^yp tians ’ 
have seen that they paid a great deal of attention to the preser¬ 
vation of the body. Apparently this was not on account of any 
reverence for the body itself, but because of a belief that the 
former tenant of that body had not perished, but had merely 
vacated his habitation for a time, and that he would eventually 
return to it again. Other explanations for their remarkable 
solicitude for the preservation of the body have been offered, 
but this seems to be the most probable reason. There can be 
no doubt that this ancient people had a firm belief that life was 
not wholly extinguished by physical death. 

In the splendid literature of ancient Greece much will be 
found that relates to the destiny of man after death. From an 
intellectual standpoint the writings of this people 

0 1 A • The Greeks, 

represent a very high degree of culture. The phi¬ 
losophers gave a great deal of thought to the effect of death 
upon the individual, and it is probable that they treated the 
subject as clearly and effectively as it could be presented by 
the human mind that had not been illuminated by a direct reve¬ 
lation from God. 

The origin of the system of religion held by this ancient 
people is obscure, and the sources from which their leading 
ideas were derived are uncertain. Whether, as was once 
thought to be the case, the principles of their faith were largely 
learned from the Egyptians and other nations, cannot be posi¬ 
tively affirmed or denied, but the results of modern investiga¬ 
tion make it probable that in the development of their religious 
opinions far more is due to the Greeks themselves than to all 
foreign influences combined. 

The Greek ideas of the hereafter passed through various 
changes. In this respect the case was not at all peculiar. No 
intelligent people can rest contented with their first conclusions 


118 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


regarding any important subject. As knowledge increases and 
progress is made, there will be a development of religious belief. 
The old ideas will be modified by the new views of truth. The 
one remarkable thing about the change in the belief of the 
Greeks was that as time progressed the doctrine of a future life 
became clearer and purer, instead of being overlaid with a mass 
of wonderful details and superstitious fancies, as was the case 
with various other ancient faiths. 

In the early history of the Greeks, interest centred in the 
present life. Although it brought many trials and disappoint¬ 
ments, and numerous evils were inseparable from it, there was a 
feeling that it was better than the condition by which it would 
be followed. Whatever happiness man was to secure must be 
obtained in this world. Man would survive death, but the 
form of his existence in the future would be far inferior to that 
of the present life. At a later period somewhat more hopeful 
views were expressed by poets and philosophers, and obtained 
some degree of favor with the common people. The doctrine 
of rewards and punishments for the deeds of the present life 
became increasingly prominent, and the superiority of the soul 
to the body was indicated more clearly and forcibly than be¬ 
fore. The future life was described as more real than it had 
formerly been pictured, and departed spirits were supposed to 
be able to engage in various activities from which the earlier 
description of their condition represented them as debarred. 
Yet even then there was little to attract the man who was about 
to leave the world. The highest culture was able to give only 
a faltering hope that active and intelligent existence would con¬ 
tinue after death. But this it did supply; and while it is not 
conclusive, the fact that with such a cheerless view of the here¬ 
after this cultured race did not cease to hope for and to expect 
some kind of a life beyond the grave must have weight in favor 
of the proposition that death does not end all. 

The Romans also looked forward to a future life. In many 
respects their ideas upon the subject of death and its effect 
The Romans u P on the individual closely resembled those of the 
Greeks. Cicero, who treated the matter more 
thoroughly than any other ancient writer, presents many rea¬ 
sons for believing that the soul does not perish with the body. 
He notes the fact that much that men do here and now has 


THE RELATION OF DEATH TO EXISTENCE I 19 

reference to a period beyond the bounds of the present life, and 
pertinently asks : “ What signify descendants, a famous name, 
the adoption of children, solicitude about the disposal of money, 
monuments on graves, panegyrics on the dead, if we do not 
think of the future ? ” Seneca and various other eminent 
writers also looked for a continuance of life beyond the grave. 
But this belief was not universal among either the philosophers 
or the common people. It is probable, however, that the great 
majority had at least a hope that life would persist. Yet, as 
was the case with the Greeks, existence in the future was often 
pictured as far less real and pleasant than life in this world. 

The fact that so many peoples, widely different in many 
other respects, ranging from the rude savage to the polished 
Greek, and the ignorant barbarian to the learned A strong 
Roman, have looked with a considerable degree of ar ^ ument 
hope and expectation for a future life, goes far to prove that 
such a life is a reality. These peoples did not have, and did 
not claim to have, a direct revelation. Their opinion concern¬ 
ing the future must have been developed largely from within. 
In many cases it could not have been imparted by other peo¬ 
ples, for those who held this view had not been in contact 
with races that were better informed than themselves. It seems 
impossible to escape the conviction that the idea of a future life 
must have been implanted in their minds and hearts by the 
Creator. But whatever its origin, it is certain that the vast 
majority of men in all the ages have cherished a belief that they 
would not perish at death. And this fact is strong presumptive 
evidence that the close of human life upon earth does not mark 
the end of personal existence. 


CHAPTER XI 


LEADING ORIENTAL RELIGIONS 

Among the religions of the Eastern world that of the Hindus 
is entitled to the first rank. In their sacred literature, which 
Early Hindu dates back some three thousand years, we find, at 
faith ‘ that early period, ample evidence that they expected 

existence to continue after the body had perished., This belief 
was held in a different and a much simpler form than the one 
which prevailed at a later period, which is set forth in their 
more recent writings, and is accepted by Buddhists of the pre¬ 
sent day. Whether it was supposed that the new life would be 
without end, and what were to be the particular conditions under 
which it was to be passed, cannot be determined. It is certain, 
however, that in the early days of this religion a real, personal 
existence after death was fully expected. There are some indi¬ 
cations of a belief that those whose lives upon the earth had 
been good were to be happy, while the wicked were to be con¬ 
fined in some dark abode. This view was not very clearly 
defined at first, but at a later stage in the development of the 
religious system of which it formed a part it became quite pro¬ 
nounced. 

In process of time the exuberant Hindu imagination built a 
wonderfully complicated superstructure upon the simple founda- 
Later develop- tion of the original belief. The old-time faith in a 
menu. future life remained unshaken, but there was a grad¬ 

ual development of the idea that in order to insure happiness 
after leaving the body it was necessary to obtain a certain degree 
of knowledge, to offer sacrifices, and perform various other reli¬ 
gious works. 

The theory of reincarnation, or transmigration of souls, came 
into the religious system of the Hindus long after the earliest 
hymns of the Vedas, their sacred books, were composed. In 
the original form of this faith there were neither temples nor 
idols. Life was profoundly peaceful, and the thought of death 


THE RELATION OF DEATH TO EXISTENCE 121 

did not occasion fear. In one of these hymns the idea of a place 
of happiness for the good, and a desire to reach that abode of 
souls, is expressed in the following lines: — 

“ Where glory never-fading is, where is the world of heavenly light, 

The world of immortality, — the everlasting, —set me there ! 


Where pleasures and enjoyments are, where bliss and raptures ne’er take flight, 

Where all desires are satisfied, — oh, make me but immortal there! ” 

In later days this hope of peace and rest beyond the grave 
became sadly obscured. The idea of a continuance of existence 
was retained, but existence itself came to be regarded as the 
greatest of evils. It was an evil, too, from which escape was 
almost impossible. From a religion of hope the Hindu faith was 
changed to a system which brought its adherents to the border¬ 
land of despair. 

The ancient Persians, a powerful and progressive people, had 
a firm belief in a future life. About many things concerning 
their faith there is much obscurity. Between the T heParsee 
period in which the system had its origin and the doctrine - 
present time, great changes in doctrine, which in a general way 
are credited to Zoroaster, have been made. But while there is 
some doubt as to various other points of the early belief, there 
is no uncertainty whatever regarding the views that were enter¬ 
tained upon the subject of a continuation of the personal exist¬ 
ence after death. 

Like the early Hindus, the Parsees, as the adherents of this 
system were called, did not erect temples and had no idol 
worship. The common belief that they were fire worshipers 
appears to have been erroneous. They did, however, regard fire 
as a pure and sacred element. It was kept constantly burning 
in certain specified places where worshipers were gathered, and 
even now is never allowed to go out. When he prays the Par- 
see turns his face toward the light of the sun or the fire. If 
the latter, he approaches the flame with his face covered, in 
order that it may not be defiled by his breath. 

While the Parsee believed in a continued life beyond the 
grave for all men, he made a marked distinction between the 
condition of those whose lives had been good and those whose 
conduct had been evil. The good passed at once to an abode 
of happiness, and the wicked were immediately consigned to a 



122 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


place of misery. Those in whom good and evil were so mingled 
as to make them unfit to associate with the pure, while not 
appearing to deserve the condemnation passed upon the utterly 
vile, were supposed to go to an intermediate place. This was 
not to be their final home, but only a place of detention in which 
they were to remain until their souls were purified by the disci¬ 
pline to which they were subjected. It was supposed that the 
conflict between the good and the evil forces of the universe 
would eventually terminate in the overthrow of all that was 
wrong, and that when the great consummation was reached the 
souls of all men would be gathered into a happy home. 

It would naturally be supposed that the Hebrews would have 
had a clearer view and a stronger hope of a future life than any 

of the other nations of early times. Their relations 

The Hebrew view• ** s-% i i iji i »i 

to a personal God were so close, and the exhibitions 
of His goodness and power were so numerous and so varied, 
that it is difficult to understand how they could imagine that 
He who watched over them so patiently, and cared for them 
so constantly in life, would desert them at the hour of death. 
But it must be admitted that they did not regard the state of 
good men who had passed away from the earth with nearly as 
much of hope and confidence as did the ancient Hindus and 
Parsees. 

It is not probable that the Hebrews expected that the soul 
would utterly perish at death. They looked for a continuance 
of being, but the conditions under which they expected to exist 
were far from attractive. Like many of the Greeks and Romans 
they thought of everything in the future state as dim, and 
shadowy, and unreal. There would be life, but that life would 
be destitute of joy. The new abode would be dark, silent, and 
gloomy. There would be no activity and no satisfaction. In 
their opinion there was no distinction between the good and the 
wicked. All went to a common home. No rewards were given 
and no punishments were inflicted. As compared with the life 
on earth, existence in the realm of the departed was weak and 
worthless. 

While this was the general idea which the masses of the early 
Hebrews entertained regarding the conditions of existence after 
death, it is safe to assume that many, in all, had a much clearer 
vision of the destiny of the departed soul. The ancient worthies 


THE RELATION OF DEATH TO EXISTENCE 1 23 

who “ died in faith, not having received the promises, but having 
seen them and greeted them from afar,” must have supposed 
that a life of blessedness awaited them beyond the grave. And 
there can be little doubt that as time passed away, and revela¬ 
tion became fuller and clearer, the better classes of the Hebrew 
people came to regard the new existence as far more desirable 
than it had appeared to those who lived at an early period in 
the history of the world. While their light was dim as com¬ 
pared with that of the present day, it must have greatly bright¬ 
ened the previous outlook upon the future life. 

In point of numbers the Mohammedan religion ranks with 
the great faiths of the world. For hundreds of years it was by 
far the most aggressive of all forms of belief, and its Mohammedan 
doctrines are now held with a degree of tenacity that opinion ‘ 
is not exceeded by the constancy of the adherents of any other 
system. But while it is an extremely important factor both in 
the religious and the political world, it does not yield a great 
amount of additional information concerning the opinions of 
the ancient peoples of the Eastern world upon the fate of man 
after death. This is not because of any obscurity in the state¬ 
ment of doctrine regarding the future life, but is due to the facts 
that it is a comparatively new system, and that its principles 
were very largely borrowed from forms of religion which had 
previously been established. It is, therefore, as a reinforcement 
of the views held by the adherents of other great religions, rather 
than as a statement of ideas which were original with, or de¬ 
veloped by, its founder, that Mohammedanism is mentioned in 
this connection. 

In this form of religion there is no doubt as to the continu¬ 
ance of life beyond the grave. Neither is there any question as 
to rewards and punishments for the deeds done in the body. 
As to what constitutes right and wrong the Moslem has some 
very peculiar ideas, but he is firm in the belief that good, as he 
sees it, will be rewarded by happiness, and that what he regards 
as wrong will surely bring misery to the soul. Something in 
the form of an intermediate state is provided in which the good 
and the wicked will have a foretaste of their future condition. 
This period is supposed to commence at death and close at the 
judgment. When it comes to an end the souls of Moslems who 
have been enduring discipline for their sins will be delivered, 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


124 

and will enter paradise. All who have not been true believers 
must return to the various places of punishment to which they 
have been assigned. No reversal of decisions can be hoped for. 
Existence will never end. The joy of the saved and the tor¬ 
ment of the lost will continue forever. 



CHAPEL AND COLUMBARIUM OF CREMATORY, GERMANTOWN, PHILADELPHIA, PA. 



















CHAPTER XII 


THE DOCTRINE OF CHRISTIANITY 

From its earliest days the Christian church has entertained 
the belief that death merely changes but does not end existence. 
This is one of the most vital principles of the faith. Anessentlal 
In fact, without this doctrine of a future life Chris- doctrine - 
tianity could not exist as a religious system, and there would be 
no reason why it should exist. Its interest, its influence, and 
its power all centre in the conviction that there is not only a life 
after the death of the body but that the future life is of tran¬ 
scendent importance. The brief period spent upon the earth is 
merely a time of preparation for a vast eternity which lies be¬ 
yond. It is only the beginning of existence. 

No other independent system of belief has ever brought the 
idea of future existence into anything like the degree of promi¬ 
nence which from the very first it has held in the PoS itive 
Christian church and which it must continue to hold statement 
as long as the church endures. Other forms of religion have 
stated it with varying degrees of clearness, though but very 
few, even of those which have borrowed from Christianity, have 
presented it so completely and so confidently. And no other 
system has offered a tithe of the evidence which is supplied by 
the Christian religion to attest the truth of this stupendous claim. 

It has already been shown that the idea that life persists after 
death was not original with Christianity. It was held, vaguely 
perhaps but truly, by prehistoric races, and has been PoIntsof 
an article of belief in all ages and among all classes tii ff erence - 
and conditions of men. But there are two points in which the 
Christian view is radically different from the ideas that had pre¬ 
vailed before this system of faith was introduced. One is in 
regard to the certainty, and the other in respect to the character, 
of the future life. 

Before the coming of Christ into the world the majority of 
men appear to have hoped, and in some degree to have expected, 
to live beyond the grave. There were various reasons for sup- 


126 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


posing that man did not perish at death. But these reasons 
Increased assur- were not fully convincing. They were indications, 
ance • but they were not proof. Questions as to the extent 

of their meaning could not be kept from the mind. Generation 
after generation passed away and no one returned to demon¬ 
strate the fact that death had not proved to be the utter ruin 
which it seemed. This fact must have caused sad forebodings 
in the minds of thoughtful men as they looked forward to the 
time when they too should be called to leave the world. 

Even to the chosen people of God the doctrine of a future 
life was not clearly revealed. The truth did not come in all of 
its completeness and power, but was given by degrees. In this, 
as in other respects, revelation has been progressive. Evidences 
have been multiplied as the ages have passed. The patriarchs 
had but little light. The prophets had more. But the full 
revelation of the certainty of a life after death was not com¬ 
pleted until Christ had, in His own person, and by His own res¬ 
urrection, demonstrated the truth of the doctrine which He had 
plainly taught. 

The change which Christianity effected in the views which 
men held in regard to the kind of life that would be granted 
A happier life beyond the grave was both great and beneficent. 

While the new system had the most solemn warn¬ 
ings for the wicked, it brought to the good the assurance of a 
felicity of which they had scarcely dreamed. The new life was 
represented as altogether different from the shadowy and unreal 
existence which various peoples had pictured as the condition 
of the dead. It was to be a cheerful, active, exuberant life, free 
from care, without weariness and without end. 

It is not proposed here to trace the development of the belief 
in a future life which is part of the religious history of the race, 
a subject of or to present the evidences by which the truth of 
Inquiry. the d oc t r j ne j s established. These matters will be 

reserved for treatment in another part of this work. The design 
of the brief chapters which have now been presented upon the 
subject under consideration has been to show that the question 
of existence after death has been a prominent subject of inquiry 
by men of all times, and has formed a part, and in many cases a 
very important part, of the various systems of religion which 
have prevailed in the world. 


CHAPTER XIII 


THE MESSAGE OF SCIENCE 

The scientific spirit is now far more active, aggressive, and 
influential than it has been in any previous age of the world. 
Not only is science more popular than ever before, A definition 
but its domain is greatly widening and its conquests needed - 
are rapidly multiplying with the passing years. Its development 
both advances and indicates the progress of the human race. 

While real science is a powerful aid to humanity, there is a 
great deal of assertion which is put forth under the name of 
science which has no just claim to such a designation. Wild 
theories and vague speculations are sometimes published as the 
teachings of science, and they find no small number of believers 
among a class of intelligent people who are attracted by the dis¬ 
play of what appears to be scholarship, but who have not the 
time or the facilities for making independent investigations. 
Therefore, before attempting to state the attitude of science 
toward the subject under consideration, it will be well to define 
its real meaning. 

One of the shortest and best definitions of science is “ system¬ 
atized knowledge.” It implies a knowledge of many facts which 
have been verified by observation or by reasoning and arranged 
in an orderly system. The message of science with which we 
have to do in this chapter is what the facts which have been 
discovered and systematically arranged indicate as to the rela¬ 
tion of death to existence. 

The idea of a future life is essentially of a religious nature. 
It has its deepest springs in the spiritual rather than in the 
intellectual faculties of man. In every system of Nature of the 
real religion it holds a prominent place. It cannot doctrine - 
be eliminated without destroying the entire plan to which it 
belongs. The more clearly this doctrine is perceived, and the 
deeper the impression which it makes upon the human heart, 
the more potent and the more beneficent will be the influence 


128 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


of the whole system. And because it is so clearly a vital point 
the opponents of religion have often made it the centre of their 
attacks. 

Much has been said and written about the conflict of science 
with religion. In fact, the discussion has been so persistent, 

and at times so acrimonious, that many people have 

The conflict , ; r r .. 

between science been led to suppose that the claims of the two could 
and religion. not k e reC 0 nciled. In many cases it has been thought 
necessary to reject the teachings of one or the other as the 
alleged discoveries of science were believed to overthrow some 
of the fundamental doctrines of the Bible. In the beginning of 
the controversy the principal questions at issue related to geo¬ 
graphy, astronomy, and the age and nature of the earth. It was 
not till “ after the beginning of the present century that the real 
battle between science and religion took a definite form, or that 
science assumed a seriously threatening aspect towards the fun¬ 
damental doctrines of religion.” 1 Then the field of attack was 
greatly extended and a much higher degree of scholarship was 
brought to bear upon the points in dispute. 

The discussion has not always been carried on in a friendly 
spirit or in a manner which was best calculated to lead to the 
OL discovery of the truth. Science has often been 

Sharp discussion. 

aggressive, and some of its brilliant teachers have, 
at times, appeared to be exceedingly anxious not only to over¬ 
throw the superstructure, but to also undermine the foundations 
of religious belief. On its part, too, the friends of religion have 
often been too dogmatic and conservative. They have at times 
refused to believe that the ancient interpretations which they 
had inherited from their fathers could be erroneous, and have 
persisted in their support of theories which the plain facts of the 
natural world proved to be wholly wrong. Thus, instead of 
being a search for truth, the controversy on both sides often 
became an effort to sustain previously conceived opinions. 
Happily, in recent times, the discussion is carried on in a very 
different manner. It is often keen and sometimes inclines to be 
arrogant, but the bitterness by which it was so largely character¬ 
ized in former days is seldom manifested. With but few excep¬ 
tions really able scientists are respectful to religion and the 
leading theologians are friendly to science. 

1 T. J. Hudson, A Scientific Demonstration of the Future Life. 



STATUE OF RAMESES II., THE PHARAOH OF THE EXODUS, 











































































' 


































































THE RELATION OF DEATH TO EXISTENCE 1 29 

It should be noted in this connection that while the contest 
between science and religion, or what passed for knowledge and 
piety, while it has been carried to an extreme, has Not always 
never been as general as some have been led to sup- un f riendl y- 
pose. At no time have all scientists of the first rank been the 
enemies of religion, and in modern times, at least, the opposi¬ 
tion to science by Christian ministers has not been anything 
like universal. Though, to a lesser degree, what in this respect 
is true now has been true in the past. Some of the ablest scien¬ 
tists of the present day are Christians, and not a few of the 
ablest defenders of the Christian faith are also eminent in the 
field of science. The former are as reverent investigators as 
are the latter. Each seek the truth and welcome light from 
whatever source it may come. 

As to the net results of the controversy, which have thus far 
been secured, different opinions have been expressed. Some of 
the champions of science claim that many points Resu it S ofthe 
have been wrested from religion and that not a sin- controvers y- 
gle position that has been secured has ever been recaptured by 
those from whom it was taken. With an equal degree of posi¬ 
tiveness many believers in religion assert that the so-called tri¬ 
umphs of science have not caused the slightest loss to the 
defenders of the faith, though they admit that a great deal of 
“ misdirected zeal in opposing science ” has been brought to 
nought. The latter view appears to be correct. Certain minor 
claims which were once made in behalf of religion have been 
found to be untenable, and have been abandoned, but no vital 
principle has been shaken and Christianity as a system remains 
unharmed. 

It has been a great disappointment to many devout people 
that science has not been more decisive in its teachings regard¬ 
ing a future life. It has seemed to them that the Too much ex- 
great advances which science has made in the mate- />«*•«•/*«'*"«• 
rial world should have been equaled, or at least approximated, 
in spiritual affairs. But there are adequate reasons why this 
has not been the case. In fact it was a great mistake to look to 
science for any decisive word upon this subject. Perhaps the 
time will come when it will fully demonstrate the truth of the 
doctrine of a future life. Some go so far as to claim that recent 
discoveries have, in addition to the evidence previously secured, 
9 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


130 

furnished all the proof for which we should ask. This claim, 
however, is not generally admitted, and the assertion seems to 
be too sweeping. If there were no proofs except those which 
are supplied by science, most men would feel that further evi¬ 
dences were highly desirable. What may be the case in the 
future cannot be affirmed, but in the present condition of science 
it seems too much to expect that it can, of itself alone, offer a 
satisfactory degree of proof that existence continues after death. 

It is a sound principle that in order to achieve success in any 
undertaking man must use means which are adapted to serve 
Means must be the purpose which he has in view. He does not 
adapted to ends. use a locomotive in making a watch or study mathe¬ 
matical text-books in learning a foreign language. The rules 
of algebra are perfect as far as their special purpose is to be 
served, but they are of no particular benefit to a scholar who is 
studying geography or history. No one expects to master one 
branch of learning by giving all of his attention to another 
department of knowledge. Even though they may appear, 
when their difficulties have been conquered, to be very closely 
related, they must be mastered separately. Each has its own 
laws and must be studied by itself. The same rule applies to 
the study of science and religion. Though they have much in 
common, they are not interchangeable. One cannot be substi¬ 
tuted for the other. 

From the very nature of the case, science should not be ex¬ 
pected to demonstrate fully the truth of all the claims of reli- 
on different gion. Many of the truths which belong to one lie 
ptanes. j n a ver y diff eren t plane from those which are occu¬ 

pied by the other. Science, too, has to do with knowledge. 
Religion is largely occupied with matters of faith. While they 
overlay each other to some extent, and are interwoven at many 
points, there is a very large and important field in which they 
have little or nothing in common. -Outside the realm of physi¬ 
cal things there is a great domain which science does not enter, 
and in which the spiritual rules supreme. There is also a vast 
field of .knowledge with which religion is not necessarily con¬ 
cerned. This fact affords an ample explanation of the truth 
that along many lines science and religion appear to diverge. 
The study of law does not give, and is not supposed to give, a 
knowledge of music. This is not at all because the studies are 


THE RELATION OF DEATH TO EXISTENCE 131 

antagonistic, but because they are radically different in their 
purposes and their possibilities. In like manner a man may 
become an adept in science without learning much about per¬ 
sonal religion, or he may become a devoted Christian without 
mastering even the elementary truths of science. 

There is a widely prevalent idea that science has practically 
settled pretty much all the questions with which it has at¬ 
tempted to deal. This is wholly erroneous. Op- Scfence 
ponents of Christianity have gloried over the minor incom P lete ‘ 
victories which they have won in their conflict with religion, 
and many earnest believers have feared that the foundations 
of their faith were being destroyed. Both parties were either 
ignorant or forgetful of the fact that science is very far from 
being infallible. During the past half century it has changed 
its ground many times, and is still in a wholly unsettled state. 
The scientist who imagines that Christianity is in danger be¬ 
cause some of the claims which were formerly made in its 
behalf have been proved to be unsound, should consider the 
question whether the changes in scientific statements have not 
been even greater than those which have been found necessary 
for the readjustment of religious creeds. It is certain that if 
what is accepted as science to-day is correct, very much that 
passed for science fifty years ago was far from being true. And 
there is every reason to suppose that new discoveries will make 
necessary equally radical changes of statement in the future. 
There is not the slightest degree of probability that the science 
of the present day has reached, or even approached, its full 
development. The man who fears to trust the Bible because 
some of its old interpretations have been found to be incorrect 
should, for the same reason, decline to believe the teachings of 
science. 

Another point which should be noted in this connection is 
the fact that the scientists who are opposed to the doctrines of 
Christianity are not agreed among themselves as to Scientists not 
the conclusions which should be drawn from the agreed - 
facts which they think have been established. The arguments 
which are advanced by one class are assailed by another, and 
the opinions of a third party will not harmonize with those of 
either of the others. This is not to be wondered at. Men 
are so differently constituted that they naturally take different 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


132 

views of the same phenomena. Then, too, some assign much 
more importance than do others to certain phases of the sub¬ 
jects with which they all have to deal. For this they are not 
to be condemned. But the fact that there is such a wide varia¬ 
tion of opinion upon matters which have been made the objects 
of close scientific investigation should lead those scientists who 
are opposed to religion to be more tolerant than they sometimes 
have been of the opinions of men who do not see their way 
clear to abandon the old faith and accept the teachings of sci¬ 
ence in place of the doctrines which have been made known by 
revelation. 

One of the principal grounds upon which a considerable 
class of scientists oppose the doctrine of a future life is the 
a ground of assumption that the soul and body of man form “an 

opposition. indivisible whole.” If their claim is true the idea 

of an existence after death must, of course, be abandoned. It is 
plain to every one that the body perishes, and it requires no 
elaborate process of reasoning to prove that if the soul is merely 
and only a part of the physical frame it must meet the same 
fate. So far as the individual existence is concerned, death is 
the end. For, though matter is indestructible, and the elements 
of which the man was composed will exist forever, the organism 
is totally destroyed by death. If this organism comprises the 
whole man, and there is no soul “ separate from the body,” 
nothing can survive. The physical, intellectual, and moral 
natures are all involved in a common ruin. 

Those who accept the theory that the whole man perishes at 
death assume that the brain, which all admit is the seat of 
thought and consciousness, and which certainly 
passes out of existence in the same manner as any 
other organ of the body, is inseparable from the mind. But 
assumption is not proof, and no one has proved, or can prove, 
that the theory is correct. It is a matter of opinion and not of 
knowledge. 

Another class of scientists, and one that is very much larger 
than that which holds the belief that death ends all, emphatically 
Favorable reject the idea that man has nothing that is superior 

indications. to> anc j ca p a kj e 0 f Hying apart from, the body. They 

regard the brain as an instrument of the mind and not as the 
mind itself. It is the organ through which communication with 


The case not 
proved. 


THE RELATION OF DEATH TO EXISTENCE 133 

the world is effected. It is active when we think, but this does 
not prove that thought is produced by its “ molecular motion,” 
or that it is generated by the brain in any manner. Matter can¬ 
not be annihilated, and there is nothing to show that conscious¬ 
ness may not be subject to the same law of persistence. Those 
who take this view compare man to a musician. The instru¬ 
ment which he uses may be entirely destroyed and yet the 
player may remain entirely uninjured. So the instrument 
through which the mind acts may perish and the mind itself 
continue to exist. 

The relation of the body and soul, and the comparative im¬ 
portance of each, has also been happily represented under the 
figure of a house and its tenant. It is said that when ex-Presi- 
dent John Quincy Adams was eighty years old, and in feeble 
health, he one day met on the street an old friend, who took 
him by the hand, and said: “ Good-morning. And how is John 
Quincy Adams to-day? ” The reply which he received was as 
follows: “Thank you, John Quincy Adams is well, sir; quite 
well, I thank you. But the house in which he lives at present 
is becoming dilapidated. It is tottering upon its foundation. 
Time and the seasons have nearly destroyed it. Its roof is 
pretty well worn out. Its walls are much shattered, and it trem¬ 
bles with every wind. The old tenement is becoming almost 
uninhabitable, and I think John Quincy Adams will have to 
move out of it soon. But he himself is quite well, sir; quite 
well.” 

There are good reasons for supposing that the figures which 
have been noted are accurate illustrations of a real condition. 
It is admitted that these reasons do not rest upon a lmmaterialforces 
physical basis. But this should not lead to their 
rejection. Some of the mightiest forces of the universe are 
immaterial. No one has ever seen or handled gravitation, yet 
no intelligent person doubts the existence of this wonderful 
power. We see its effects, and because we see them we know 
that this force exists. It is something altogether different from 
the bodies upon which it acts, but it is just as real as are the 
material things through which its effects are manifested. So in 
the human constitution there may be a force that moves and 
controls the physical frame but which is not of a material origin 
or nature. While they are not able to describe it fully, or even 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


134 

to locate it accurately, very many able scientists believe that 
there is something in man which is widely different from the- 
body, which can exist apart from the physical frame, and which 
will survive the event of death. 

A strong argument in favor of the supposition that life con¬ 
tinues after the decay of the physical frame is found in the 
Gradual destnic- well-attested physiological fact that the entire body 
non of the body. p er i s i ies and i s renewed several times during the 
average term of life, and yet through all these great changes the 
individual remains uninjured. All through his earthly career 
he knows himself, and is known by others, to be one and the 
same person. The destruction of his body is constantly going 
on, yet it does not in the least degree disturb the man to whom 
the body belongs. He attends to his business and enjoys his 
pleasures precisely as he would do if no such change was in 
progress. The fact that he not only endures this radical and 
continuous change, but suffers no inconvenience from it, is a 
strong indication that the real man has an existence that is 
superior to that of his body and that may be continued after his 
physical frame has fallen into utter ruin. 

Perhaps a still more convincing argument for the persistence 
of life after death is found in the fact that the sleep of the body, 

however profound, does not end in the destruction 

Life during sleep. . * . . . .. 

of the individual. 1 he senses may be closed to all 
impressions, and the man be practically dead to the outer world, 
yet the life of the soul goes on, and it is probable that some de¬ 
gree of mental activity continues. About one third of the time 
spent in this world is passed in sleep, but instead of tending to 
destroy life, the repose thus obtained gives renewed vigor to 
both body and mind. Fainting, also, and various forms of dis¬ 
ease, may cause an entire suspension of the conscious existence, 
and yet the life of the individual so affected may neither be 
destroyed nor seriously endangered. 

Opponents of the doctrine of a future life insist that the 
examples which have been cited are not perfect analogies and, 
Not perfect therefore, are not to be accepted as proofs that death 
analogies. will not d es troy the personal existence. This claim 
must be admitted. The changes which are constantly going on 
in the body, and which cause its periodical renewal, are effected 
so slowly and naturally that they do not even in the slightest 


THE RELATION OF DEATH TO EXISTENCE 1 35 

degree interfere with the regular order of life. The processes of 
decay, elimination of worn-out material, and of repair, are not 
only perfectly natural, but they are really essential to the health 
of both the body and the mind. 

The fact that the existence of the individual is not destroyed 
by the entire change of the bodily structure, when that change 
is effected in a manner that is in strict accordance with the laws 
of his being, does not absolutely prove that it can survive the 
shock of death. In the one case there is an entire change in 
the elements of the body but the body itself continues. In the 
other case the organism is wholly destroyed. And it is not 
improper to ask whether this total destruction does not extin¬ 
guish the life which the gradual tearing down and rebuilding of 
the body allows to continue. The visible effects of the process 
are certainly very different. And there is the same reason for 
asking whether the effect of the endless sleep which we call 
death will not be more destructive to the personality than is 
temporary withdrawal from activity of the bodily powers during 
natural repose. We cannot, by the application of any natural 
laws, demonstrate that such is not the case. Still the indications 
are reasonably clear that the higher powers of man do not per¬ 
ish when his body dies. If science does not clearly prove that 
life persists, it certainly does not show that such persistence is 
impossible. And, really, the question is so far outside of the 
realm of natural science that we ought not to be disappointed if 
it returns no definite answer to our inquiry. 

Though science does not prove that man continues to live 
after his body has been placed in the grave, it does show that, 
during: the unnumbered ages which have passed , 

. .. i 1 r A taw of progress. 

since the material world was formed, a law ot pro¬ 
gress has been in active operation. The fact that such a law 
prevails is an important indication that there is a future life. 
The goal of progress is not destruction, but betterment. And 
where the law of progress is in force, as science proves it to be 
in the universe with which we have to do, it is natural to sup¬ 
pose that continued life, rather than perpetual death, will be the 
outcome of the earthly existence. 

Whether the subject is considered from the standpoint of a 
believer in the literal accuracy of the biblical account of the cre¬ 
ation of man, or from that of an evolutionist, there will be found 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


I36 

reason to hope that this law of progress will insure the continu¬ 
ance of human life beyond the bounds of this present world. If 
God made man in His own image, a perfect being, endowed 
with great powers and almost limitless possibilities, we cannot 
resist the conviction that He made him for a more permanent 
existence than that of earth. If, on the other hand, God has 
created man by a process of development which has extended 
over immeasurable periods of time, there is no probability that 
after bringing him to his present high position in the scale of 
being, He will allow him to perish at death. It is not to be 
expected that a law of progress which has made possible the 
wonderful results which have thus far been achieved will cease 
its operations when death occurs. It is far more reasonable to 
suppose that the process of development will continue beyond 
the grave. 

Psychical science, which has to do with the powers and capaci¬ 
ties of the human soul, is not yet sufficiently developed to furnish 
The scie.ee of the evidence that will be generally accepted as proving 
soul beyond all doubt that life persists after death occurs. 

Still, a great quantity of evidence has been collected, and to 
many minds it proves sufficiently convincing. Investigations 
are still being made and further developments of importance are 
expected. 

Information concerning the condition of man after death is 
often offered by spiritualistic mediums. Some of these mediums 
are notorious impostors and have been detected in the grossest 
frauds. Others are excellent persons who have been endowed 
with great psychical powers, and who are able to do many things 
which are really wonderful. By the exhibition of these powers 
the credulous are easily persuaded that they have had communi¬ 
cation with the spirits of their departed friends, and have learned 
a great deal about the circumstances and conditions of life in 
the unseen world. 

While these phenomena are very interesting, it is not from 
such a source that the most satisfactory evidence regarding the 
future life is to be obtained. If any absolutely reliable system 
of doctrine, which is founded upon the results of inquiry and is 
so complete that it does not need to be fortified by an appeal 
to the revelations of the Bible, is ever established, it will be 
developed through the united efforts of educated, alert, and 


THE RELATION OF DEATH TO EXISTENCE 137 

patient investigators like the members of the London Society 
for Psychical Research, and various kindred organizations. 

In the physical world the field of knowledge is being con¬ 
stantly enlarged. New and wonderful disclosures follow each 
other with almost bewildering rapidity. The astonishment 
which is excited by one great discovery is hardly at its height 
when something still more marvelous attracts the attention and 
furnishes a new centre of interest. Until a comparatively recent 
period the spiritual realm has had but little study, as contrasted 
with the physical universe, from eminent scientists. Doubtless 
this accounts in part for the fact that our information concern¬ 
ing the one is so much more meagre than it is regarding the 
other, though it must not be forgotten that the difficulties attend¬ 
ing the investigation of spiritual phenomena are vastly greater 
than are those in which matters pertaining to the material world 
are involved. It is a cause for rejoicing that many accom¬ 
plished scientists are now carefully and thoroughly studying 
various events which appear to have a direct bearing upon the 
question of a future existence. While a complete demonstra¬ 
tion of the doctrine which it seeks to establish may not be made, 
it is not too much to expect that by means of this investigation 
a great deal of useful knowledge concerning the powers and 
capacities of the human soul will be obtained. 

Although there is a wide difference in the opinions of scien¬ 
tists upon the possibility of a future life for man, the broad out¬ 
look from the purely scientific position is hopeful. T/ieoutlook 
Some able men hold that science throws no light h °P e f u ‘- 
upon the subject, but they are in a very small minority. A larger 
number believe that the evidence of science is sufficient to prove 
that the life which man lives upon the earth is only the begin¬ 
ning of his existence. Then there are those who hold that 
science leaves the matter in doubt, but who cheerfully admit 
that there is at least a scientific possibility of a future life. 

One of the ablest writers of the day declares that there is “ no 
apparent ground for assuming” that our five senses give us 
exhaustive knowledge, and adds that “ we may be living in a 
universe of which we really know as little as the mole, which no 
doubt seems to itself to perceive everything that is perceptible, 
knows of the world of sight.” 1 Another writer, and one whose 

1 Professor Goldwin Smith, Guesses at the Riddle of Existence. 

9 * 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


138 

sympathies seem to be very strongly with science as opposed to 
theology, says that “ there is nothing in Agnosticism to nega¬ 
tive the possibility of a future state of existence. Behind the 
veil there may be anything, and no one can say that individual 
consciousness may not remain or be restored after death, and 
that our condition may not be in some way better or worse, ac¬ 
cording to the use we have made of the opportunities of life.” 1 

As has already been said, we should not look to science, in 
the present state of its development, for absolute proof of the 
doctrine that man outlives death. As far as it goes it seems to 
corroborate the teaching of revelation. Whatever it has been 
in the past, at present it is not hostile to religion. The same 
God who made the universe, with its wonderful laws and adapta¬ 
tions, also gave us the Bible with its great spiritual doctrines. 
As both came from a Creator who is infinitely wise, we may be 
sure that, when properly interpreted, they can never be in conflict. 

Doubtless it is best that we should walk in part by faith rather 
than to go wholly by sight. The spiritual nature of 

Faith should J & , . 1 . ^ .. 

supplement man needs development as truly as do the intellec¬ 
tual powers, and, in order that this may be effected, 
it is necessary that we take some things on trust. The wonders 
of the universe with which we are acquainted, and the glimpses 
which we get of things which we can scarcely begin to compre¬ 
hend, and which grow more and more marvelous as our field of 
vision is enlarged and our powers of observation are increased, 
prove that there must be a mighty sovereign in control. This 
ruler, whom some, like Herbert Spencer, recognize as “ an un¬ 
known and unknowable power,” is by others revered as a God 
who, though almighty in power, condescends to dwell in the 
hearts of all His trusting children. 

Long ago it was said that “ an undevout astronomer is mad.” 
The marvelous revelations which science has given in recent 
years make still more complete than ever before the proofs of 
the existence of God. And if we admit that there is a God who 
has created not only all that we behold but, as reason assures us, 
infinitely more than we can see, even with the wonderful appli¬ 
ances of modem invention, we can hardly doubt that His pur¬ 
poses with mankind extend beyond this present world. Surely 
science brings to us a message of hope concerning a future life. 

1 S. Laing, Modern Science and Modern Thought. 


PART III 

THE SPIRITUAL MAN 


CHAPTER XIV 

THE HUMAN SOUL 

As far back as the history of man can be traced we find a 
belief in his spiritual, as well as his physical, existence. In some 
more or less distinct form this belief has continued 
to the present time. It has survived all the vast existence of a 
changes through which the race has passed in its s ° ul ' 
ascent from the primitive condition to the present plane of civ¬ 
ilization. Even where progression has been followed by degra¬ 
dation, the idea that man is something more than an animal has 
not been obliterated. The most careful investigation has shown 
that the lowest races with which we have any really intimate 
acquaintance have a belief in spiritual beings, 1 and thus far not 
a single language has been discovered “ which is without a name 
for soul.” 2 

Then, too, in all ages, and among all peoples, there have been 
outward manifestations of a firmly rooted belief in the existence 
of the soul. Altars have been erected, temples and synagogues, 
and mosques and churches, have been builded, often at great 
personal sacrifice on the part of those by whom they were con¬ 
structed. And as man increases in knowledge and culture this 
external evidence of a belief that he is something more than a 
body, and that he has a destiny that is not bounded by his phy¬ 
sical existence, becomes more pronounced. In the great centres 
of population splendid cathedrals are erected, and all that wealth 
can obtain to make them magnificent, or art can do to make 
them beautiful, is secured. And where fewer people are gath- 

1 E. B. Tylor, Primitive Culture. 2 Max Muller, Anthropological Religion. 



140 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


ered, and wealth is less abundant, such edifices as the residents 
are able to furnish are cheerfully constructed. In all civilized 
lands they will be found, in rural settlements as well as in cities 
and towns. 

These large investments of money make no return in kind. 
They are not business ventures. They have nothing in common 
with the great establishments which men erect for financial 
benefit. Not only are they costly to construct, but they are 
maintained at a constant and an enormous expense. They 
are continued through all political disturbances, their activities 
are not allowed to cease even when business depression closes 
the doors of the great industrial works which are designed to 
increase the wealth of their owners, and even the death of men 
who are most prominent in the conduct of their affairs is not 
permitted to cause a break in the round of their operations. 
These institutions have not been established, and they are not 
maintained for the purpose of promoting the worldly interests of 
men, but because they are required by the higher nature, which 
is known as the human soul. 

Various definitions of the soul have been given. Of these, 
some are inadequate and others are difficult to comprehend. 
Definition For the purpose of this work an exhaustive meta¬ 
physical statement is neither necessary nor desirable. 
Simpler terms will answer better. 

In a general way it may be said that the soul includes the 
mental and the moral natures of man. All the higher and 
nobler qualities of the individual properly belong to the soul. 
The term “spirit” is sometimes used instead of “soul,” but they 
are not properly interchangeable. Spirit is the less comprehen¬ 
sive. It may be thought of as having intellect, sensibilities, and 
will, but without moral attributes. No such conception can be 
formed of the soul. When we say that the soul has departed 
from the dead body, we mean that the moral, as well as the intel¬ 
lectual, powers have ceased to exist therein. 

Sometimes, however, this order appears to be reversed. Some 
have thought that the soul was intermediate between the body 
and the spirit, and would perish at death. By others the soul is 
regarded as having a closer connection with the body than the 
spirit occupies, and as comprising the emotional nature but not 
the will. These views have, to some extent, lost favor in modern 


THE SPIRITUAL MAN 


141 

times, and it is now common, though far from universal, to dis¬ 
card any sharp distinction and to consider soul and spirit as dif¬ 
fering in function, but as being of the same substance. Perhaps 
the simple definition of a natural entity “ which lives, feels, thinks, 
and wills,” gives as good an idea of what the soul really is as it 
is possible to express in a concise form. 

Although there has, from the earliest times, been an almost 
universal belief in the existence of the soul, the forms in which 
this belief has been held have been widely divergent. Avar ietyof 
This variation has been observed not only in differ- °f }inions - 
ent ages of the world, but also among people of the same age 
and the same land. Whenever and wherever there has been 
intellectual activity a great deal of thought has been given to 
the soul, and this thought has run in many different channels. 
But in one respect there has been a substantial agreement. 
Even those who take the very lowest view of the soul, and claim 
that it is material in its nature, unite with those who hold that 
it is purely spiritual, as well as with all whose opinions lie be¬ 
tween these two extremes, in admitting that it is greatly superior 
to the relatively gross matter of the body with which, during life 
in its present form, it is inseparably connected. From this com¬ 
mon ground the numerous forms of belief diverge. 

In early times the soul, like the body, was supposed to be 
composed of some material substance. It was thought, how¬ 
ever, in the case of the soul, that this substance was Supposed to be 
greatly refined and attenuated. And this view has matmaL 
been maintained, not only among peoples that have made but 
little progress in mental development, but it has been held also 
by not a few noted philosophers in both ancient and modern 
times. The Stoics held to the doctrine of a “ fine ethereal nature 
of the material soul.” In the early Christian writings there is 
evidence of a common belief in a “ finely attenuated but still 
material spirit,” and at the present time there are many who 
believe that the soul may be fully described as “ the higher and 
finer activity of our general frame.” 

In recent times a great deal of latitude has been allowed in 
the interpretation of the doctrine that the body and the soul 
are alike in substance. Some have held that the “ atoms are 
endowed with sensation.” This form of materialism is so gross 
as to make man nothing but an animal, and to practically deny 


142 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


the existence of any principle that is really worthy of the name 
of soul. Others, and among them are many prominent physi¬ 
ologists and metaphysicians, hold the main principle of the doc¬ 
trine, but in a much higher form. Spinoza taught that mind 
and matter are “ two attributes of one substance,” and Karl 
Vogt attributed to the functions of the brain and nerves all the 
phenomena of the soul. Others, like Dr. C. A. Stephens, hold 
that “ the soul is merely cell experience, the knowledge acquired 
by cells, collectively and individually, during years of hereditary 
transmission.” According to these views the brain and nervous 
system form the soul, and all of its powers are due to the ac¬ 
tivity of a finely organized but still material substance. 

It is customary to think and speak of the body as under¬ 
going a constant change, while the soul, with the exception of 
The ever-changing growth and development, remains the same. The 
souL body which any given person now has, though 

apparently the same, is not the identical body that he had eight 
or ten years ago, yet his identity as an individual is usually sup¬ 
posed to have remained unchanged. While the body is tran¬ 
sient the soul is believed to be permanent. 

There are some who dissent from this view. They hold that 
the soul, as well as the body, is constantly undergoing changes, 
and that the individual of to-day is a very different man from 
the one that he was at an earlier period of his existence. 
According to this doctrine the soul “ consists of impulses, dis¬ 
positions, and ideas.” 1 Our ideas are integral parts of ourselves. 
Consequently what our ideas are at any given time determines 
our personality at that moment. These ideas, and therefore 
the elements of our personality, are not the same at all times, 
and may be radically different at one period from what they are 
at another. They vary in intensity and change in character. 
Memory leads us to think that there is no change in the indi¬ 
vidual himself. He believes that he has the same soul as he 
had when he was born, but such a belief is a mental illusion. 

This view eliminates the “ metaphysical ego-soul,” with its 
enduring personality, and in its place gives us “ the real soul of 
our ideas and ideal aspirations.” Its advocates hold that this 
doctrine of the constantly changing soul is fully sustained by 
science, and that, though it seems to be utterly subversive of 

1 Dr. Paul Carus, The Religion of Science. 


SPIRITUAL MAN 


143 

generally accepted principles, it “ elevates and purifies religion.” 
These claims, however, are not likely to be generally granted 
either by scientists or by religious teachers. 

The doctrine of a changing personality seems to be taught 
by the exponents of the Buddhist faith. The adherents of this 
system consider a belief in an immortal soul which can be de¬ 
scribed as “ an undivided, eternal, and indestructible essence, 
which has only taken its abode temporarily in the body,” an 
error. They believe that at some period, the exact moment of 
which is determined by various circumstances, the soul that 
leaves the body in which it has dwelt will appear upon earth in 
another body or another form, and that with each rebirth there 
will be a new and perishable personality. Yet the claim is 
made that, though the consciousness of the ego may change, 
the true inner being transcends the fleeting phenomena and 
practically continues to exist. The recurring ego conception is 
likened to a torch which a wanderer uses for a while in order 
that he may find a path when he is traveling in the dark, which 
he then extinguishes, and lights another torch for a later jour¬ 
ney. 1 This doctrine is said to be comprehensible to one “ who 
has attained understanding,” but it is certainly very difficult for 
one who is not versed in the occult philosophy of the East to 
master. It is hardly too much to say that to the ordinary mind 
it is unintelligible. 

That the soul changes along the line of development no one 
will deny. It should grow stronger and better with every pass¬ 
ing day. It has great possibilities. These lie in all directions, 
and many souls develop in ways that are evil instead of in those 
that are good. But whether it becomes better or worse, we can¬ 
not admit that its personal identity is lost. As long as a man 
remains any one he must remain himself. 

Another theory is that the soul is of an altogether different- 
nature from the body, though it resembles the body in that it 
never loses its personal identity. According to this The immaterial 
view the physical man is controlled by an imma- soul ’ 
terial principle, that resides within him from the earliest period 
of his existence, and never leaves him until the moment of 
death. This principle is called the soul. It is the power that 
thinks, and feels, and wills, and acts; that loves and hates, and 

1 Subhadra Bhikshu, A Buddhist Catechism. 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


144 

that carries on afl the intellectual and moral processes of the 
individual life. Between this principle and the body there is a 
most intimate and an absolutely indissoluble partnership. Like 
a plant which grows both downward and upward, the soul sends 
its energizing power into the physical frame, while at the same 
time, by the experiences of life, it develops its spiritual char¬ 
acter. At death the body begins to decay, while the soul enters 
upon a freer and nobler state of existence. 

The arguments by which the views of materialists are sus¬ 
tained are simple and forcible, though very far from conclusive. 
£ idencesof ma P resen t state, which is the only state of which 

teriaiism insuffi- we have absolute personal knowledge, the soul is 
intimately connected with the body. What would 
occur if it were set entirely free from the body we have no means 
of learning by actual experience until death occurs. 

The soul is developed with the body. Both are weak at birth, 
and both increase in power with the progress of time. Appar¬ 
ently they are inseparable. The knowledge of mate- 

Intlmate connec- , J J , . . 

non of soul and rial things which the soul acquires comes, and must 
come, through the medium of the body, for this is 
the only means by which it can communicate with the outer 
world. Then, too, the condition of the body as to health and 
disease greatly modifies the activities of the soul. When the 
body is vigorous the mind is generally clear and strong. When 
the body is seriously injured, either by disease, or accident, or by 
natural decay, the mental powers are usually greatly weakened. 
Sometimes, as in extreme old age, the mind seems to be even 
more completely prostrated than is the body. 

In this intimate connection with, and apparent dependence 
upon, the body, there is an indication that the soul is not an 
entity. If this were all the evidence upon the subject which 
we have, the inference would be that the soul is a result of the 
organization of matter, a very delicate and complex organization, 
it is true, but none the less a mere arrangement of atoms in defi¬ 
nite proportions and relations. There would be no valid reason 
for supposing that a soul constituted in such a manner could 
have an existence separate from the body. The evidence thus 
far adduced seems to show that the soul was born with the body, 
and that it shares both in the well-being of the physical frame 
and in all the disasters with which that frame may be visited. 


THE SOUL REVISITING THE BODY 































' 





























* 


























THE SPIRITUAL MAN 


145 

From these facts it is possible to suppose that as part and parcel 
of the body the soul will pass out of existence when the physical 
organization is destroyed by death. But it must be remembered 
that only a small part of the evidence bearing upon this question 
has yet been examined, and that what has been considered does 
not amount to proof. If no further light could be obtained, the 
fate of the soul at death would remain entirely in the realm 
of conjecture. Its future existence could neither be explicitly 
affirmed nor positively denied. 

The body of man grows, just as the body of an animal grows, 
by the use of suitable food and by the observance, often uncon¬ 
scious, of certain laws which tend to promote its The growth of the 
health and development. If the conditions are favor- body - 
able this process continues for a number of years, which time, 
with a slight margin for variation, is known as the natural period 
of growth. Then follows a period, which is also pretty well 
defined as to extent, in which there is but little change. Growth 
has ceased but there is no retrograde movement. For a time 
the man is in the full vigor of life. He “ holds his own ” against 
all opposing forces. 

This state, however, is inevitably followed by a period of 
decadence. At first the change is slight. The individual him¬ 
self is not conscious of its beginnings, and, for a while, it is not 
observed by his most intimate companions. This is evident 
from the fact that when the indications of decline are first 
apprehended the change is so marked that it could not have 
occurred instantaneously without producing a violent shock. 
Once commenced, the decline continues, not regularly, perhaps, 
but certainly. In many cases the current is partially stemmed 
by careful attention to the laws of health, by a change of climate 
or occupation, or by medical assistance. But the decline is only 
retarded; it is never prevented. Each passing day brings the 
man nearer to the close of his earthly course, and no human skill 
or power can avert the impending catastrophe. 

So far as the processes of growth and decay are concerned, 
the indications are in the line of materialism. They follow the 
general laws which govern the development of all animal life. 
Animals, as well as men, have their clearly defined periods of 
growth, maturity, and decay. But this does not make it certain 
that the event of death will bring the same fate to both classes 

10 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


146 

of beings. Neither does the common failure of the mental pow¬ 
ers of man when his body is weakened make it clear that the 
former can have no existence after the latter has been destroyed. 
Still, we must admit that these facts, if taken by themselves, give 
ground for the fear that the one will perish with the other. If 
no further evidence upon the subject could be obtained the case 
would not be proved, but the presumption would be in favor of 
the material nature of the soul. 

While there are many points of similarity in the processes of 
development of the mental powers as compared with those inci¬ 
dent to the Growth of the body, there are also strongly 
of the higher marked contrasts. When we study the higher na¬ 

ture we find evidences which point in the other direc¬ 
tion from those which relate principally to the body. These 
evidences greatly weaken the force of the arguments which mani¬ 
fest the possibility, if not the probability, that the soul has only 
a material nature. 

In the case of the mental as well as in that of the physical 
powers, there is growth and development. But, unlike that of 
the bodily nature, the growth of the mental faculties is continu¬ 
ous and self-perpetuating. Each new attainment is a help, a 
stepping-stone, to something higher. The mind grows with the 
body, it is true, but it grows much more rapidly than the body. 
It does not stop growing when the body reaches its full size 
and stature. On the contrary, its progress is then accelerated. 
It depends less and less upon details as its increasing power 
enables it to grasp the salient features of the problems which 
it attempts to master. 

All through the period in which the body is merely main¬ 
taining the ground which it has already won, the mind con¬ 
tinues to grow. And, if it has been properly disciplined and 
cultivated, it continues to enlarge and unfold long after the 
physical powers have begun to decline. By this process of 
growth the mental equipment is so greatly increased, and the 
natural powers of the mind are so powerfully reinforced, that, in 
many instances, when the man is sixty-five, or even seventy, 
years of age, he can perform intellectual feats for which he 
would have been utterly incompetent when his physical nature 
was in its prime. 

Not only does the intellect continue to grow as the man 


THE SPIRITUAL MAN 


147 

advances in years, but there is abundant evidence to prove that 
the limit of progress and power is never reached in this world. 
The mind continues to expand until the weakness of the body 
checks its development. No man ever has lived long enough, 
or ever will live long enough, in this world .to allow his mental 
powers to come to the fullness of their capacities. This is true 
because each and every increase in knowledge gives power to 
obtain additional supplies, and the more the mind grows the 
greater becomes its power of expansion. And the fact that only 
a most meagre and imperfect development is possible in this life 
must be regarded as very strong presumptive evidence that the 
higher nature of man will outlive the body. 

The modification of the apparent powers of the soul by the 
condition of the body is not as serious an objection to the doc¬ 
trine of an immaterial nature as it is sometimes Dee ,i„ e ofthe 
believed to be. It is true that disease or accident p/,ys/ca/powers - 
may so affect the brain as to lessen the manifestation of mental 
power. In these ways the avenues of communication with the 
external world, which the soul has used in the past, are partially 
closed. Barriers are erected which interfere with the free work¬ 
ing of the mind in its relation to the physical universe. But 
there is no evidence whatever that they shut it out from com¬ 
munication with the spiritual world. 

As long as the body remains in health, and the vigor of early 
and middle life remains, the soul uses it as an instrument with 
which to accomplish its purposes. When the body becomes 
diseased, sustains accidental injuries of a serious nature, or the 
physiological changes which are incident to old age occur, the 
instrument becomes imperfect. The owner of the instrument 
may be as strong and capable as he has ever been, and yet, on 
account of the injuries which that instrument has sustained, he 
may not be able to make his real condition known. The most 
talented artist cannot paint a fine picture with a brush that has 
been ruined by accident or by excessive use, and the most gifted 
player cannot obtain harmonies from an organ that is utterly 
out of tune. Yet it would be as reasonable to expect that the 
painter could do justice to himself with a spoiled brush, and the 
musician could please his audience with an instrument that is 
wholly unfit to use, as it is to imagine that even the most bril¬ 
liant soul can reveal its powers through the medium of a body 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


148 

that is fast falling into decay. So, though the body becomes 
old and worn, and the higher nature seems to be declining with 
it toward a common and an irretrievable ruin, we need not be 
alarmed regarding the final outcome. The probability is very 
great that the soul remains unharmed. 

Numerous efforts have been made to visibly represent the 
soul. The Egyptians sometimes pictured it as a bird with a 
Representations human head, the Greeks as a small human figure 
of the soui. with w j n g S) anc i the Romans as a butterfly. The 

Pythagoreans regarded the soul as a harmony which is placed 
in the body for punishment. During the mediaeval period it was 
sometimes pictured as a naked child leaving the mouth of a 
man at death, and in other instances as a small naked man. 

Many people who do not appear to have attempted an elab¬ 
orate description have believed that the soul was possessed of a 
material form. In some parts of China a hole is broken through 
the roof in order to allow the soul of a dying person to leave the 
house, and in various European countries it was once customary 
to open a window or a door as the soul was departing from the 
body. Among those who have held a somewhat less material 
view the soul has been supposed to resemble, or to be sur¬ 
rounded by, air or water or even fire. Aristotle held that it was 
composed of an ethereal substance the properties of which were 
not known. 

It was much easier for primitive man to believe that he had a 
spiritual existence in connection with that of his body than it 
nature of the was for him to form any adequate idea of the nature 
soui. of his soul. The lower races and tribes of the pre¬ 

sent day are equally unable to describe it, and are probably 
unable to conceive of anything that approximates the impor¬ 
tance of the higher qualities of being. To some extent the same 
difficulty is experienced everywhere. The most highly edu¬ 
cated men of the present day, like those of former times, differ 
widely in their opinions upon this subject, and there seems to 
be no reason to suppose that a perfect agreement will ever be 
reached. 

Certain indications that the soul is not material have already 
been noted. There are phenomena connected with its exist¬ 
ence and activities which cannot be accounted for by a purely 
materialistic theory and which give reason for believing that it 


THE SPIRITUAL MAN 


149 

is of a high spiritual nature. Man is an animal, it is true, but 
he is vastly more than an animal. The animal nature is only a 
minor part of his being. The real man is spiritual. It is a too 
common belief that he will become spiritual at death. While 
upon the earth he is regarded as principally a physical being. 
After death occurs he is supposed to have been changed into 
a spiritual nature. But there are not sufficient grounds for 
expecting that death will work any such transformation. The 
mere act of dying does not entirely revolutionize human nature. 
Man must be spiritual before he dies if he is to be spiritual after 
the body dies. If he is principally a physical being in this 
world the greater part of himself will perish at death, and if he 
lives at all beyond the grave he can have only a dwarfed and 
meagre existence. This we cannot believe to be the case. The 
old philosophy regarded man as a physical being which had a 
soul. The newer, and undoubtedly the truer, philosophy con¬ 
siders man as a spirit which has a body. The soul is not some¬ 
thing which a man possesses, it is the man himself. 

Among those who admit that the soul is primarily spiritual 
there is a wide difference of opinion as to its real constitution. 
Many hold that it is a simple substance, different A simple sm6 _ 
from any material thing, without form, and wholly stance ' 
invisible to the eye of man even when aided by the most perfect 
optical instruments which human skill can construct. Being 
simple, it must be indivisible, and therefore it cannot perish as 
does the body by separation into various original elements. 

If these premises are granted there will be force to the con¬ 
clusion which is drawn from them. But no one has been able 
to prove that the soul is a simple substance. There are some 
indications that it may be so, but there are others which do not 
harmonize with this theory. The soul has many different activ¬ 
ities, and it is not certain that they all proceed from a single 
source. On the contrary, these numerous and widely different 
powers seem to point to the existence of a complex organization. 
Yet, if the latter view is correct, it will not in the least interfere 
with the doctrine of a perfect unity of the soul, or with a belief 
that the higher nature of man is purely spiritual. 

One of the most ingenious theories of the soul that has ever 
been formulated, though a matter of speculation as far back as 
the time of Plato, has been developed in comparatively recent 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


150 

times, and has received the indorsement of a number of emi¬ 
nent scientists. It supposes man to have a dual mind. In¬ 
stead of having only one mind, as has generally been 
The dual mind. h e has two. Of these, one is entirely 

objective. It belongs wholly to the brain, cannot act.independ¬ 
ently of it, and must inevitably perish when the brain is de¬ 
stroyed. The other mind is purely subjective. It is “ the soul 
or spirit, and is itself an organized entity, possessing independent 
powers and functions.” 1 This mind, or soul, is endowed with 
the capacity for existence apart from the body, and may reason¬ 
ably be expected to live after the body has fallen into decay. 
This theory furnishes a probable explanation of various mental 
and spiritual phenomena for which it is difficult to account by 
the other methods which have thus far been suggested by those 
who have made a careful investigation of the nature of the hu¬ 
man soul. Still, though it may be held to mark a great advance 
in the line of discovery, it is not universally regarded as an en¬ 
tirely adequate theory. 

We talk about seeing people on the street, at their homes, or 
wherever the place of meeting may be, but in so doing we are 
...... only using a figure of speech. The idea of this sight 

seems very real, but it is only a pleasing fiction. 
The soul is invisible. The child never truly sees its parent and 
the parent never actually beholds its child. We communicate 
with our relatives and friends, it is true. Sometimes, in mo¬ 
ments of intimate communion, our souls seem almost to flow 
together, but there is always a barrier which they cannot quite 
overleap. The wall of separation may be very thin, but it can¬ 
not be entirely removed. The real man is the soul, and the 
soul can never be seen by the organs of bodily vision. 

“ You do not see my friend at all; 

You see what hides him from your sight.” 

In the gleam of intelligence in the eye, and the cordial clasp 
of the hand, we have intimations of what the nature of com¬ 
munication might be if the body did not intervene. But while 
the body remains we can see but darkly, we can know only in 
part. Until the robe of flesh is removed we shall never have a 
full view of the most intimate friend. Until that event occurs 
the real personality cannot be revealed. It is only when the 
1 T. J. Hudson, The Law of Psychic Phenomena. 


THE SPIRITUAL MAN 


I5I 

tabernacle of flesh falls into dust that the soul emerges into a 
light that will accurately reveal its character and proportions. 

In this intimate union of the soul and body we have one of 
the great mysteries in which human life is enveloped. By just 
what means these two great natures act upon each 

, , , 1 .. A great mystery. 

other, and in precisely what manner they exert their 
individual influence, cannot be fully explained. The effects of 
this relationship and interaction are matters of such common 
observation that they cause but little surprise. Familiarity has 
led to indifference. But if they had never been brought to our 
attention, they would, if stated so that we could immediately 
comprehend them, cause unbounded amazement. 

There is, also, much that is most perplexing connected with 
the life of the soul itself. How it can bear the confinement to 
which it is subjected in the tenement which it occupies, how it 
is able to be at one time the imperious master, and at another 
time the abject slave of the body, and how it can work through 
the body in such a manner as to make its great powers felt in 
the realm of the natural world, are only examples of a great 
number of questions which can be easily asked but to which 
no satisfactory answer can be given. Mrs. Sigourney well de¬ 
scribed the soul as 

“ That mysterious thing, 

Which hath no limit from the walls of sense, 

No chill from hoary time, with pale decay 
No fellowship, but shall stand forth unchanged, 

Unscorched amid the resurrection fires, 

To bear its boundless lot of good or ill.” 

The mystery in which the whole subject is involved should 
not, in the least degree, awaken doubt as to the existence of the 
soul. Spiritual things do not have a monopoly of the mysteries 
with which we are familiar. There is mystery all around us, in 
earth, and air, and water, and in many other of the common 
things with which we have to do. 

The processes of vegetable growth, by which each seed pro¬ 
duces a plant or tree after its own kind, by which the roots take 
from the soil just the substances which are needed and reject 
all others, and by which the mineral elements which are required 
for the formation of the trunk and branches and twigs and 
leaves are raised, in opposition to the law of gravitation, from 
the ground and distributed through the whole system, are full 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


*5 2 

of mystery. Nothing but our familiarity with them prevents us 
from calling them miraculous. Equally marvelous is the union 
of diametrically opposite qualities of the luminiferous ether 
with which, scientists assert, all space is filled. This substance, 
though as solid as adamant, can neither be seen nor felt. It 
permeates all forms of matter, presses with almost incalculable 
weight upon everything in the universe, and yet allows the light¬ 
est as well as the heaviest bodies to pass through it without ap¬ 
parent resistance to their progress. Then, too, there are instru¬ 
ments of man’s invention, like the telegraph, the telephone, and 
the phonograph, which give most wonderful results. Man can 
control these instruments, and can explain the mechanical prin¬ 
ciples which are involved in their working, but he is obliged to 
admit that the nature of the forces upon which their operation 
depends lies far within the region of the mysterious and the 
unknown. Wherever he goes, and whatever he does, man is 
surrounded by mysteries which are as inexplicable as are those 
in which the nature of the human soul is veiled. 

The ordinary powers of the soul are wonderful, but there are 
other forces, latent in most people but certainly existent, which 
powers of the far transcend all of those which are manifested 
souL through the medium of the five senses. Many per¬ 

sons are able to use these higher powers almost at will, and by 
their aid can perform most remarkable feats. The phenomena 
which attend the use of these powers are altogether different 
from those which are seen in the exhibitions of conjurers and 
sleight of hand performers. And though some of these powers 
are often used by spiritualists, they are not monopolized by 
those who claim to have intercourse with the spirits of the 
dead. They are, in numerous cases, exhibited by persons who 
wholly reject the idea that inhabitants of the unseen world inter¬ 
vene in their behalf. Wonderful as they are, these powers are 
the natural and inherent energies of the souls through whose 
agency they are exhibited. 

One of these great powers of the soul, and the one which is 
probably the most frequently exhibited, is that of clairvoyance, 
ciairvoyar.ee. or " c ^ ear seeing.” This is a “ mysterious inward 
sense of sight,” by means of which some persons 
can read letters which are folded and sealed, can see through 
the wall of a house as through a window, and can tell the time 


THE SPIRITUAL MAN 


153 

indicated by a watch that has been set, placed several feet 
from them, and the dial of which, if seen at all, must be viewed 
through a metal covering. Doubtless there have been many 
cases of this nature in which there was collusion, or some other 
form of deception, but there are a great number of instances on 
record in which the high character of the parties concerned 
made such an explanation impossible. There are, also, records 
of many cases in which those who exhibited these great powers 
were so closely watched by trained observers that if imposture 
had been attempted it would certainly have been discovered. 
How the soul can penetrate such barriers is not known. The 
fact that it sometimes does surmount them is established be¬ 
yond the shadow of a doubt. 

The phenomena of somnambulism are equally beyond the 
range of the powers which are exhibited through the senses, 
and prove conclusively that the soul has higher 
faculties than those which are manifested in the Somnambul,sm - 
ordinary course of life. While in the somnambulistic state 
men and women have been known to walk along the steep 
roofs of houses without the slightest hesitation and return to 
their rooms in safety. While thus engaged their eyes were 
either tightly closed or else were wholly insensible to the action 
of light. Many persons when in this condition have made 
journeys of considerable length, have climbed rugged and dan¬ 
gerous cliffs, or have performed mechanical operations requir¬ 
ing no small degree of skill. Instances are on record, too, in 
which essays and sermons have been written and carefully cor¬ 
rected while the natural organs of sight were not in use and the 
person was apparently wholly unconscious of his surroundings. 
Upon waking the somnambulist usually returns at once to his 
natural state, but he never remembers anything that he has 
done while under the dominion of the influence which seems to 
bring into use the higher senses of the soul. 

The hypnotic state, often called artificial somnambulism, may 
be self-induced by many persons, or it may be produced, with 
the proper class of subjects, by certain movements 
and directions of others. This condition may be¬ 
come so profound as to render the subject insensible to physical 
pain. Before it reaches this stage, however, there is a great 
exaltation of several of the senses. When under the hypnotic 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


154 

influence conscious effort ceases, but the subject will obey 
every command of the medium or operator with which he can 
comply, no matter how difficult or how ridiculous it may be. 
The subject is the veriest slave of the one who has brought him 
. into the hypnotic state. He appears to follow unspoken mental 
suggestions as readily as he obeys spoken commands. His soul 
is thoroughly dominated by that of the one to whom he yields. 
This shows that a wonderful power is at the command of the 
man who can bring another into such a condition. In a lesser 
degree this power is manifested by many persons who, though 
apparently not specially gifted in other respects, are able to 
raise themselves to a state of great mental and spiritual exalta¬ 
tion. It is possible that the faculties through the activities of 
which these phenomena are manifested are common to all souls, 
though the majority of people do not even suspect their existence. 

Another form in which the mind of one person may act upon 
the mind of another is known as telepathy, or thought transfer¬ 
ence. Though some are inclined to doubt the exist¬ 
ence of such a force, its reality seems to be well 
established. When this power is exercised one mind is influ¬ 
enced by another without the use of any of the ordinary means 
of communication. Often the parties are long distances, some¬ 
times hundreds of miles apart. In the majority of cases there 
is no “ mental suggestion ” or “ expectant attention,” which are 
great aids in many hypnotic experiments. Various explanations 
of this “ action of spirit on spirit at a distance ” have been 
offered. Which, if any, of them is correct cannot be affirmed. 
The fact that the thought of one person may, without the use 
of signs or language, or any other tangible means of communi¬ 
cation, be impressed upon the mind of another, and particularly 
upon that of one who is far away, is what concerns us most. It 
proves conclusively that the human soul is possessed of stu¬ 
pendous powers. 

The influence of the soul upon the appearance of the body 
within which it dwells also naturally falls into the realm of the 
The soul an archi- marvelous. Many hold that the soul really con- 
tect structs the physical frame. They believe that “ the 

body is built from within,” and that the materials of which it is 
composed are fashioned and arranged by the person who makes 
it his home. 


THE SPIRITUAL MAN 


155 


“ For of the soul the body form doth take, 

For soul is form, and doth the body make.” 

This is rather of an extreme statement, though it contains a 
great deal of truth. It is hardly within bounds to say that the 
soul actually builds the body, for some persons whose characters 
are most amiable have bodies which are very far from attractive, 
while others have dwarfed and unlovely souls in beautiful bodies. 
Yet it is a fact, that to a considerable extent the soul makes its 
impress upon the body. The character of an individual who has 
departed from the path of right is often indicated by his coun¬ 
tenance before any serious injury to his physical organization is 
apparent. And to an equal degree a pure and noble soul will 
make its impress upon the tabernacle of flesh in which it abides. 

The soul has a powerful influence upon the actual condition, 
as well as upon the appearance, of the body. This is especially 
noticeable in cases of accident or disease. Instances influences the 
are on record in which men who have met with some P h y 8 lcal condition. 
mishap and supposed themselves to be severely, if not fatally, 
injured, have suffered intensely, and been physically prostrated, 
until an examination showed that they had sustained only a 
slight scratch. As soon as they became aware of their real con¬ 
dition their pain ceased, and their strength was restored. Many 
a sick man has recovered his health because he hoped and deter¬ 
mined to get well, and many another has died from what would 
have been merely a slight illness if it had not been aggravated 
by fear that it would prove fatal. Experiments with criminals 
have shown that men may die from purely imaginary wounds. 
Many cases have occurred in which men have fallen dead upon 
the receipt of news, in some cases bad, but in many instances 
good, for which they were not prepared. In such instances the 
emotions of the soul proved too powerful for the body to with¬ 
stand. 

The fact that the soul exerts a powerful influence upon the 
body has been made the basis of quite an elaborate system of 
medical treatment. The acceptance of this method has doubt¬ 
less been retarded by the extravagant assertions of some of its 
advocates. Yet, while much more has been claimed for it than 
the facts which have been adduced appear to warrant, there is 
no doubt that certain forms of disease can be successfully treated 
by means of mental impressions. 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


156 

The most complete demonstration of the power of the soul 
over the body which has ever been known, or which can reason¬ 
ably be demanded, has been furnished by Hindu fakirs who vol¬ 
untarily suspend animation and allow themselves to be buried 
for days, or even weeks, at a time, and who come into the full 
possession of all their powers when brought into the open air. 
Several fully authenticated cases of this kind are on record. It 
is said, too, that Professor A. J. Seymour, of Utica, New York, 
who has carefully studied Indian magic, has been “ buried under 
a mound of earth in a room for twenty-one days ” without sus¬ 
taining the slightest injury. 

Details differ somewhat, but, as described by Professor Sey¬ 
mour to a newspaper reporter, the general course of procedure 
when one is to be buried alive is something as follows: After 
dieting for some time, the magician throws himself into a trance 
and gradually becomes unconscious. When animation is sus¬ 
pended, the mouth, ears, and nostrils are filled with wool and 
sealed with wax, the body is rubbed with paraffin, which closes 
all the pores, and is then wrapped in a blanket saturated with 
alum water. When thus prepared it is laid in a box, or casket, 
and placed in a tomb, or buried in the ground. That such 
an experiment is attended with great danger is evident to any 
intelligent person. But the fact that it has, in several instances, 
been performed under circumstances which rendered deception 
impossible shows that, when it has been trained for such a 
purpose, the soul may obtain control of the body to an extent 
that is almost miraculous. 

There are many things which unite to prove that the soul is 
greatly superior to the body. This superiority is most clearly 
Superiority of the indicated in the moral realm. The body, as such, is, 
in an ethical sense, neither good nor bad. It has no 
moral character. Many sins are committed through the agency 
of the body, but the soul is the power that instigates, and that 
is responsible for them. The soul can resist tendencies to evil. 
This the body cannot do. Apart from the soul the body is 
inert. It can no more sin after it is dead than it can walk. 
Besides, many sins, as pride, and envy, and malice, are purely 
spiritual. They are often manifested through the body, but 
they have their origin in the soul. Whatever the degree of 
guilt that attaches to them may be, it belongs to the soul. 


THE SPIRITUAL MAN 


157 

The superiority of the higher nature is also shown by the 
relation in which it stands to the physical frame. If it were 
like the body, and had no higher powers than those of the 
body, the two natures would develop along exactly parallel lines. 
The soul would grow only while the body was growing. When 
one reached its full capacity for development the other would do 
the same. The large man, too, would have a large mind and 
the small man would have only a comparatively feeble intellect. 
But we know that neither of these things occur. The mind 
often continues to increase in power long after the body has 
passed the period of growth and entered into a state of decline. 
And it is a matter of the most common observation that the 
size of the body gives no indication of the strength of the intel¬ 
lect with which the man is endowed. It is not infrequently the 
case that a physical giant is an intellectual dwarf. Often, too, a 
mighty mind dwells in a body that is far below the average size. 

The soul is, also, superior to the body because it is permanent. 
Every few years the man has a new body, but he remains the 
same individual. The body is constantly going The permanent 
through the process of change. It is not just the bein9 ‘ 
same to-day that it was yesterday, and it will not be the same 
to-morrow that it is to-day. But no change of this nature affects 
the soul. It grows with age and experience, but it does not 
discard what it has previously acquired. What it was in infancy, 
and childhood, and middle life, it is in old age. Like the body 
it is constantly gathering new material, but, unlike that organ¬ 
ism, it does not eliminate the old. The soul continues, and, by 
its persistence, proves its superiority to the inconstant physical 
frame. 

Then, too, in the matter of endurance the soul shows a won¬ 
derful superiority to the body. The latter may be so severely 
burned that its powers will be greatly impaired, or so terribly 
mangled that large portions of it must be removed, but the soul 
remains intact, and its life goes on with undiminished power. 
Sometimes the body is injured by paralysis to such an extent 
that one half of it is utterly useless as far as motion and sensation 
are concerned. The man whose body is in this condition can¬ 
not walk, and cannot perform physical labor, but he may be able 
to think as connectedly and as clearly as he could before the 
injury was sustained. 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


158 

Disease or accident may cause the loss of one or more of the 
senses without impairing the strength and activity of the soul. 
A man may become blind, and yet his mental processes may go 
on as before. A most valuable means of acquiring knowledge 
has been destroyed, it is true, and one of the great sources of 
enjoyment has been cut off, but the soul retains, in the fullest 
measure, all of its former powers of thought and action. The 
loss of other means of communication with the outer world is 
equally powerless to affect the higher nature. A man may be 
deaf as well as blind, may lose the sense of touch, and other 
bodily powers may fail, so that he is almost helpless as far as 
physical things are concerned, and yet the life of the soul may 
remain as vigorous as it has ever been. 

In the power of action, the soul shows its great superiority to 
the body. The soul is the active, energizing principle of human 
ne source of existence. Matter, by itself, is passive. It has no 
dctiuity. energy and can exert no power. The body cannot 

move of itself. When a man walks he takes his body. He 
uses it as a means of locomotion. But the body is the inferior 
member of the human organization. It goes with the man, but 
it never takes him, and never directs him where to go. The 
soul is the active partner and its rule is supreme. 

That this view is correct is proved beyond all question by 
what occurs when the partnership of body and soul is dissolved. 
Between the time of death and the period at which the disor¬ 
ganizing forces become active, the bodily organs with which the 
man has had intercourse with the external world are intact. 
Yet the eye cannot see, the ear cannot hear; all of the functions 
of the body have ceased. Within the living man there must 
have been some power that was superior to the organs of sense 
and was able to use them as its servants. That power was the 
soul. When death occurred, the organs became useless not 
because they were destroyed, but because the power that had 
controlled them was no longer present. 

Another point in which the superiority of the soul over the 
body is shown is in its vastly wider range of action. Merely by 
our own exertions we can take our bodies only a short 
distance irom the locality in which we chance to be. 
Our progress is slow and toilsome, and we are soon wearied by 
the effort which it requires. If we visit a distant country we 


THE SPIRITUAL MAN 


159 

are obliged to make extensive preparations, call various forces 
of nature and inventions of man to our aid, and spend a good 
deal of time in reaching our destination. But in spirit we can 
go there without preparation, without aid from outside sources, 
and without effort or delay. In thought we can go around the 
world, visit the most distant heavenly bodies, or journey to the 
remotest conceivable space, without moving our bodies or spend¬ 
ing more than the briefest moment of time. 

The fact that it has the wonderful powers which have been 
noted must be regarded as conclusive evidence that the soul is 
not only superior to the body, but that it is of a radically dif¬ 
ferent nature. And it is not unreasonable to suppose that its 
superior powers and higher qualities will insure its existence 
after the body has perished. 

There are but few points connected with the soul of man which 
have received more attention, or concerning which there has 
been a wider divergence of opinion, than that which The origin of the 
pertains to its origin. In the early history of the souL 
race, and among the uncivilized peoples of later times, ideas 
upon this subject were exceedingly vague and unsatisfactory. 
The soul itself was a mystery in the presence of which the 
untutored man was helpless. The origin of this impenetrable 
mystery lay still further in the background of darkness and of 
doubt. A belief that there was a soul within him the primitive 
man could not resist. Whence it came he could only surmise. 

It was not the primitive man alone who was in ignorance re¬ 
garding the origin of the soul. His civilized and cultured suc¬ 
cessor also groped in darkness when attempting to solve the great 
problem of his origin. Philosophers, and poets, and sages, and 
logicians, treated the subject with all the powers and skill at 
their command. They viewed it from different points, and 
formed widely different opinions, but none of them could speak 
with authority. Each and all were baffled in their search. 

It was not until man received a revelation from a higher power 
that he could speak with certainty concerning the origin of his 
soul. The first authoritative statement regarding Madehnownby 
his creation we find in the book of Genesis. Here reve,ation ’ 
we read that “ the Lord God formed man of the dust of the 
ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and 
man became a living soul.” 


i6o 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


No other explanation that has ever been offered so fully ac¬ 
counts for the wonderful powers and capacities of the human 
soul. And no discoveries of science, and no investigation in 
the vast realm of knowledge, has eliminated the great truth 
which this simple statement conveys. Neither have the modifi¬ 
cations which have been made in the form of the doctrine as it 
was previously held lessened, in the slightest degree, the belief 
that the Creator of the universe and the Maker of man’s physical 
frame was also the Author of the human soul. 

Among those who are fully agreed that the soul had its origin 
in God, there is a great difference of opinion as to the time and 
method in which it came into being. The question 

When and how. . . . . .. . 0 . ., A J . 

has long been under discussion, and it seems to be 
no nearer a settlement than it was hundreds of years ago. The 
advocates of each theory adduce arguments which are sufficient, 
so far as they themselves are concerned, for the establishment of 
their own opinions, but which do not prove convincing to those 
who hold other views. 

One of the theories by which men have endeavored to account 
for the existence, and determine the origin, of the soul is that 
of emanation. According to this view the soul of 

Emanation. . . £ . , ^ 0 . 

man is, in a separate form, a portion of God. Spir¬ 
itual existence is represented as an endless chain. At birth the 
soul comes from God. At death it returns to Him. It does 
not, however, return as an individual, to maintain a separate 
existence, but to become, as it was before its temporary sojourn 
on the earth, a part of the universal Spirit. While it is in the 
body the soul is a separated fragment of God. Before birth and 
after death it has no identity, no individuality, but is simply 
merged in the infinity of His being, with nothing whatever to 
distinguish it from any other portion of Himself. This is a 
fanciful theory, and the arguments which have been presented 
in its support are not at all convincing. 

The principal passage of Scripture that can be quoted in 
defense of this doctrine is found in the twelfth chapter of the 
book of Ecclesiastes, and reads as follows: “ And the dust re¬ 
turn to the earth as it was, and the spirit return unto God who 
gave it.” But the fact that the spirit is the gift of God does not 
prove that it was a part of His being. He gives the sunshine 
and the rain, but we do not regard them as of the same essence 


TEMPLE AT MADURA 












































































' 

. 





















- 

































































THE SPIRITUAL MAN 


161 


as His own being. The doctrine of emanation is pantheistic in 
its tendency. It is not only not supported by the general tenor 
of the Scriptures, but is in direct opposition to some of their 
plainest teachings. 

Concerning the verse that has been quoted, it may be said 
that some regard it as an interpolation, though it is hardly 
probable that this view is correct. The natural meaning of the 
passage seems to be that at death the body and soul of man are 
separated, and each returns to its original source. This is the 
only explanation that harmonizes with the line of thought which 
runs through the book from which the verse is taken, or which 
accords with the doctrines presented in other portions of the 
Bible. 

The theory of emanation is as clearly opposed to reason as it 
is to Scripture. God is not material. Therefore He cannot be 
divided into parts. What occurs in the creation of a soul is not 
a division of the essence of His being but a communication of 
His life. 

This doctrine would make God both a sinner and a sufferer. 
It would, also, take away all the meaning of the discipline and 
the experience of the earthly life of man. At death the soul of 
the wicked man, just as truly and just as quickly as that of a 
good man, would be assimilated into the actual being of God. 
The virtuous and the vicious would be equally blest, and the 
man who had been a bold blasphemer, and who had even denied 
the existence of God, would be received, not merely into His 
presence, but into His very being. The patriot and the martyr 
would receive no better reward than the traitor and the perse¬ 
cutor, and the foulest murderer would not only escape all pun¬ 
ishment but would become part of a holy God. No theory which 
would lead to such results as these can be sustained either by 
Scripture or by reason. 

This theory has been widely held, and many able theologians 
have accepted it as the one which most fully answers the ques¬ 
tion of the origin of the soul. According to this 

. , r i i Creationism. 

view the physical nature of the human race was 
created on the sixth day, when Adam and Eve were formed 
from the dust of the ground. All of their descendants have, so 
far as their bodies were concerned, come into the world in the 
natural order of birth from human parents. For all mankind, 

II 


162 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


after the first pair to the end of time, no creative act was re¬ 
quired to perpetuate the race. But this law of being extended 
only to the physical frame. No natural provision was made for 
endowing the body with a soul. Consequently, each individual 
soul, from that of Cain to that of the last child to be born while 
the world endures, would require a direct creative act for its pro¬ 
duction. The soul is supposed to be infused into the body at 
some period in its embryonic state, though there are those who 
hold that this does not occur until the time of birth. 

This theory does not harmonize with the general order of 
things. It is more mechanical, and more complicated, than 
natural processes usually are. It is not in accordance with the 
ordinary way in which God accomplishes His purposes. Then, 
too, it seems to conflict with the statement of Scripture that the 
work of creation, so far as setting in motion the great principles 
of development were concerned, was completed in six days. 
When everything had been arranged for the orderly progress of 
events, and forces had been generated and set in motion which 
would carry on to perfection the work which had been com- 
Tnenced, God rested from His labors. But according to this 
theory the work of direct creation is constantly going on, and 
.there must be a “ miraculous or supernatural act ” of God when¬ 
ever a child becomes endowed with a soul. 

Another difficulty connected with this theory is found in the 
universal tendency of man to sin. When God finished the crea¬ 
tive work described in the book of Genesis, He pronounced it 
all very good. It is not to be supposed that He would continue 
the work of creation upon any lower plane. Yet we find chil¬ 
dren coming into the world with an irresistible tendency to sin. 
This fact proves that if each soul is, at or about the time of 
birth, the result of a direct act of Divine power, the perfection 
of the early creation is a thing of the past. The theory does 
not admit of any satisfactory explanation of the fact that the 
soul naturally tends toward the evil rather than toward the good. 

Another form of the theory of creationism has been adopted 
by some, who have held that when Adam was created God also 
created all the souls of the human race. These souls, however, 
were not supposed to become active until the bodies for which 
they were designed had been prepared. Such an explanation 
does not make the subject more intelligible. On the contrary, 


THE SPIRITUAL MAN 163 

it appears to deepen the mystery in which the origin of the soul 
is veiled. 

According to the theory which is known as traducianism, the 
soul of man is of supernatural origin, but the power of God which 
was manifested in its creation was exerted, once for 
all, on the sixth day of the creative week. The soul, TraduC!anism ' 
as well as the body, of the child is an offspring from its parents. 
Neither for the body nor for the soul of the child is there any 
new creation from nothing, but in the formation of each there 
is the orderly working of a natural law. Man is both physical 
and spiritual, and the child inherits from its parents the two 
natures. 

The charge of materialism, which has been urged against this 
theory, is met by the assertion that the soul is neither originated 
nor propagated in a physical manner, but results from a trans¬ 
mission and individualization of a purely spiritual nature which 
had its origin in God . 1 This theory is a great aid in sustaining 
the theological doctrine of original sin, with which it perfectly 
harmonizes. Though it presents difficulties of no small magni¬ 
tude, it has probably been more generally accepted than any 
other explanation of the mystery which it seeks to solve. 

Another theory which has been adopted by some speculative 
philosophers is that of dissemination. According to this view, 
when the material universe came into being the 

. r . r . . Dissemination. 

germs, or seeds, of souls were formed, and were scat¬ 
tered everywhere, ready to become active whenever the proper 
conditions for their development should be attained. The child 
is born without a soul, but one is inhaled with its earliest breath, 
or is taken into the body with its first nourishment. A further 
development of this theory gives to all nature potential capaci¬ 
ties for life. Matter is formed of monads which are dormant, 
but which, under favorable circumstances, may become con¬ 
scious. Man is composed of multitudes of these monads. Of 
these, the one which has become the most fully developed, and 
has risen to such a height as to make it the ruler of the organiza¬ 
tion, is believed to have become the real and immortal soul . 2 
This doctrine appears to have no more solid foundation than 
bold speculation and wholly unwarranted assumption. 

1 W. G. T. Shedd, D. D., Dogmatic Theology . 

2 W. R. Alger, Doctrine of a Future Life . 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


164 

The theory that the soul had an existence before it was united 
with the body in which it at length finds its home has been 
accepted by a large number of people at various 
preexistence. p er i 0 ds and in different lands. Some have held that 
the formation of souls was one of the first manifestations of 
creative power, and that when it enters a human body the soul 
descends to earth from a higher and nobler realm. Others have 
thought that the previous existence was on a lower plane of 
being, and that there has been a long and weary ascent before 
the dignity of a human soul has been reached. 

Many who believe in the preexistence of the soul claim that 
the doctrine is taught in the Bible. Certain passages in the 
ne teaching of Old Testament have been quoted in its favor, but in 
Scripture. none Q f t h em does t h e theory appear to be sustained 

by a natural interpretation. Perhaps the strongest evidence 
adduced from this source is the following passage from the one 
hundred and thirty-ninth Psalm: — 

“ My frame was not hidden from thee, 

When I was made in secret, 

And curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. 

Thine eyes did see mine unperfect substance, 

And in thy book were all my members written, 

Which day by day were fashioned, 

When as yet there was none of them.” 

It seems difficult to read the idea of the preexistence of souls 
into this quotation. The purpose of the inspired writer appears 
to have been to set forth the doctrine that God’s watchful care 
is over all of His children and that nothing can be concealed 
from Him. 

In the New Testament the principal passage which is quoted 
as giving countenance to the doctrine of the preexistence of the 
human soul is found in the ninth chapter of the Gospel accord¬ 
ing to John. In the narrative with which this chapter opens we 
are told that as He was passing along Jesus saw a man who had 
been blind from his birth. The disciples, who accompanied 
the Master at this time, asked, “ Who did sin, this man, or his 
parents, that he should be born blind ? ” In reply, they were 
assured that neither the man himself, nor his parents, had been 
guilty of any sin for which the affliction which he had been 
called to endure was the punishment. 

The question which was asked by the disciples has been con- 


THE SPIRITUAL MAN 


165 

strued by some as indicating a belief, on their part, in the pre¬ 
existence of the soul. It is said that they thought it possible 
that the man was suffering for sins which he had committed in 
some previous state of existence. But it is not certain that the 
questioners had this idea in mind, or that they had a clear appre¬ 
hension that any deep meaning might be attached to their inter¬ 
rogation. Still, it is possible that they desired to obtain from 
Christ a definite statement regarding the doctrine of preexist¬ 
ence, which was held by some of the Jews of their time, and with 
which they were probably somewhat familiar. Be that as it may, 
it is certain that in the reply which they received the doctrine 
was not sanctioned. And there is no valid reason for supposing 
that any of the New Testament writers intended to teach that 
this world was not the first home of the human soul. 

In the books of the Apocrypha the case is very different from 
what we find it in the Old and New Testaments. Here much 
is found to favor the idea of the preexistence of souls. In vari¬ 
ous other Jewish writings, particularly in the Talmud, the doc¬ 
trine comes into considerable prominence. This was undoubt¬ 
edly due, in part, to the fact that the Greek philosophy of the 
day had deeply impressed the Jewish mind. 

The mystic religions of the East have made the doctrine of 
the preexistence of the soul very prominent in their systems of 
faith. The idea seems congenial to the Oriental A doctrine of ori- 
mind and is very fully elaborated by philosophers as ental rei w° ns - 
well as by religious teachers. In the early days of the Christian 
religion this doctrine found considerable favor among the mem¬ 
bers of the new organization. In modern times it has been 
accepted by many able scholars, some of whom attained consid¬ 
erable prominence as religious teachers. 

The doctrine of the preexistence of the human soul has not 
always been very clearly defined, and a great deal of latitude in 
its interpretation has been allowed. Plato taught Various interpre- 
that “ God made the soul in origin and existence tations - 
prior to the body.” Plutarch believed that the soul came from 
heaven and is “ troubled in this new and strange place.” Philo 
held that souls came from God, have their home in the air, and 
are of differing degrees of influence. The ones living at the 
greatest distance from the earth act as the agents of communica¬ 
tion between God and the world. Those who live nearer the 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


166 

earth enter human bodies, in which they dwell for a time in a 
sort of dormant state from which they are finally released by 
the death of the physical frame. 

The East Indian philosophers seem to have regarded the soul 
as not only existing prior to the body, but as having had a being 
from eternity. They find it difficult to believe “ that a soul has 
a beginning,” and are confident that all souls that are now in 
the flesh have existed before. Their ideas upon this subject are 
well described in the following lines: — 

“ Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting: 

The Soul that rises with us, our life’s Star, 

Hath had elsewhere its setting, 

And cometh from afar.” 1 

For the coming of the soul into this earthly state, where so 
much of suffering is inevitable, and where sorrow and disap¬ 
pointment are certain to be its close companions during a large 
part of the weary journey, various explanations have been 
offered. Some have supposed that the spirits became tired of 
their home above and yielded to a natural desire to visit the 
earth for a change of scene. Others have held that souls enter 
human bodies in obedience to a command of the Evil One. 
Another theory is that God has condemned the soul to impris¬ 
onment in the body in order to punish it for sins which it has 
committed in the past. There is, also, the view that God sends 
souls into the world for educational, rather than for retributive 
purposes. The life in the body is a preparation of the soul for 
something that is higher and better than the earthly state and 
condition. 

The theory of the previous existence of the soul has been 
adopted by some to aid in the explanation of certain problems 
Basis of the connected with the tendency of mankind to wander 

theory. away from God. There are, also, various other 

matters relating to human life and experience, upon which it is 
supposed to throw a clearer light than we obtain from any other 
source. 

There is often an apparent partial recognition of ideas which, 
at the time they are presented, seem to be new, yet which also 
leave a vague impression that they have been in the mind 
before, and have faded from the memory. This fact has been 

1 Wordsworth, Intimations of Immortality, 


THE SPIRITUAL MAN 


167 

regarded as an indication that at some distant period in the past, 
and in some form of being of which we have no recollection, 
these ideas had been impressed upon the mind. Then, too, the 
indescribably melancholy feeling which sometimes comes over 
one in hours of solitude, or at times in which the sensibilities 
are deeply moved, is thought, by some, to be a sort of home¬ 
sickness of the soul that is longing for its earlier and perhaps 
happier abode. Then, too, the frequent impressions which we 
have of something which lies just beyond our reach, and the 
waves of emotion, sometimes joyous and at others despondent, 
which, at various times and without apparent cause, seem to 
come directly from some far distant realm, lead the speculative 
mind toward the conclusion that it had an existence previous to 
the one of which it is now conscious. But these, and all similar 
indications, appeal merely to the sentimental side of our nature. 
They cannot stand under a careful investigation. When brought 
to the court of the intellect they are soon swept away. The 
doctrine itself is beset with difficulties, and is involved in mys¬ 
teries which are fully as much in need of explanation as are 
those for which it has been offered as a solution. 

Even if the doctrine that the soul had existed in a previous 
state could be sustained, it would throw no light upon the ques¬ 
tion of its origin. The difficulty would be carried 

.... . * iii r Does not account 

further back into the past, but it would be, so far as for the origin of 
its nature and extent are concerned, just the same 
as it had been before the theory was adopted. It is the source 
of the soul, not the time in which it came into being, with which 
we are now concerned. The idea of preexistence is interesting, 
and to some minds it is very attractive, but it utterly fails to 
furnish an explanation of the origin of the higher nature of 
man. 

Long ago, before the term “ evolution ” came into common use, 
there were many who believed that, by a long and weary process, 
the soul had been developed from a lower state of 
being. The doctrine has been held in widely dif¬ 
ferent forms. Upon its lowest plane it is the theory of pure 
materialism. Its believers hold that what is called the soul, 
though of a more refined quality, is as truly material as is the 
body itself, and that it will not prove more enduring than the 
physical organization of which it forms a part. 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


168 

Others who believe in evolution take a much higher view of 
the soul itself, and of its origin. Herbert Spencer held that the 
soul is a divine effluence. Professor Fiske has declared that 
he “ can see no insuperable difficulty in the notion that at some 
period in the evolution of Humanity this divine spark may have 
acquired sufficient concentration and steadiness to survive the 
wreck of material forms and endure forever .” 1 The belief that 
the higher as well as the lower nature of man “ has been devel¬ 
oped by natural processes ” is very common among evolutionists, 
and is held by not a few who are eminent for piety as well as for 
learning. 

A modified form of the doctrine of evolution, which is in more 
perfect harmony with the narrative of the creation of man as it 
appears in the book of Genesis, has already been mentioned, but 
should receive a brief notice in this connection. It appeals 
strongly to those who are anxious to keep as closely as possible 
to the literal interpretation of the Scriptures, but who are 
troubled by the apparent discrepancies between the teachings of 
science and the statements of revelation. 

Those who accept this theory believe that the physical form 
of man, and to a lesser extent his mental nature also, has been 
built up by a long process of development and improvement. 
Commencing with the single cell, which is the lowest form of 
living organization, they trace the line of being up an ascending 
scale of forms which became more and more complex as pro¬ 
gress was made, until, after the lapse of untold ages, the body 
reached a sufficient degree of development to fit it for the recep¬ 
tion of a spiritual nature. When this high point of vantage 
had been reached, the God who had formed the cell and endowed 
it with marvelous powers of development, by another distinct 
creative act imparted to the higher organization a living and an 
immortal soul. 

To a great many persons this theory of the origin of the human 
soul will not be satisfactory. Many others will regard it as the 
best explanation that, in the present state of our knowledge, it 
is possible to make. Like all other theories it has its difficulties. 
But it is neither unscriptural nor unreasonable. It recognizes a 
specific act by a personal God in the creation of the first human 
soul, as fully as does any other theory. Consequently it is not 

1 John Fiske, The Destiny of Man. 


THE SPIRITUAL MAN 


169 

open to the principal objection to the doctrine of evolution as it 
is stated by those who assume that the soul, as well as the body, 
of man has been developed from a bit of protoplasm, without 
the direct intervention of an intelligent and an almighty Creator. 

An interesting question regarding the human soul relates to 
the place, or position, which it occupies in the hu- The place ofthe 
man frame. It is a question which has been consid- souL 
ered by thoughtful men of past ages and which still remains a 
not infrequent subject for discussion. 

When the soul is regarded as something of a material nature 
and form there is no incongruity in seeking to find its location 
in some particular spot in the bodily organization. And even 
if the theory that it is immaterial is held, there will be a natural 
desire to locate the centre of operations of this “ simple, space¬ 
less essence ” which exerts such wonderful power and is endowed 
with such magnificent capacities. 

The answers to the question concerning the place of the soul 
in the body have been numerous, and have differed widely. 
Many of the theories advanced have been untenable, and very 
few have been satisfactory. Some of the primitive races have 
believed that the soul had its seat in the heart; others have 
thought that it was in the blood. Some have regarded it as 
having parts, and have thought that these parts were distributed 
among the various organs of the body, as the liver and kid¬ 
neys ; while others have located it, in part at least, in the bones. 
This idea was rejected by some of the Greek philosophers who 
held that the soul was not material, and could not be divided 
into parts, but was “ whole or entire in every part of the body.” 

Various modern investigators have held that the place of the 
soul was in the brain. Descartes believed it to be in the pineal 
gland, a small body in the brain; and Leibnitz assigned it to a 
“ mathematical point ” in that organ. Others assume that while, 
in a general way, the brain may be said to be the seat of the 
mind, yet different portions of this organ perform very different 
functions, and, consequently, for the direction of its diverse 
activities, various seats are required . 1 

The statement, which is sometimes made, that the brain is the 
seat of the soul, is often misapprehended. It seems to indicate 
that the soul, as an entity, is seated, or located, in some part of 

1 George T. Ladd, D. D., Outlines of Physiological Psychology . 

11 * 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


170 

the physical body. So far as it can be localized, the brain may 
be called its home. It is a real being, it can be acted upon by 
the brain and can act on the body through the brain . 1 But 
there is not sufficient evidence to prove that it is entirely within 
the brain, and many facts have been brought to light which tend 
to show that such is not the case. 

The spiritual nature of the soul makes it difficult for us to 
think of it as confined in any part of a material body. It uses 
the body for the accomplishment of its purposes, but its powers 
are not the same as are those of the physical frame, and it is 
subject to widely different laws. There are phenomena which 
seem to justify the supposition that the soul is as truly, and as 
fully, in one part of the body as it is in another. Some claim 
that the soul is “ not in the body in any physical sense,” but that 
the physical organism is merely the instrument of a higher 
power. In other words: “The soul is in the body only in the 
sense that its energies flow through the body .” 2 

If any particular portion of the body is assigned as the place 
of the soul it must be the brain. The two are most intimately 
The brain not the connected. On account of this close union there is 
souL a certain sense in which, perhaps, the brain may be 

properly called the seat of the soul. But it must not be sup¬ 
posed that the brain and the soul are identical. The brain is so 
constituted that, like every other part of the body, it must decay. 
This is an inexorable law of the physical being. But as far as 
we know, and knowledge goes far enough to prove convincing 
to most minds, no such law applies to the soul. “ Eight or nine 
ounces of nervous tissue, held in suspension in forty or more 
ounces of pure water, do not constitute the mind or soul of 
man .” 3 This physical matter must become disorganized and 
pass into new combinations. But the decay of the brain, in 
common with the remainder of the body, need not permanently 
affect the soul any more than the tearing down of a house need 
prove an injury to its former occupant. 

It is evident that unless we take a purely materialistic view, 
we can speak of the measurement of the soul in only a figurative 
manner. We must regard the soul as an entity, yet as invisible 

1 William A, Hammond, M. D., A Treatise on Insanity. 

2 R. A. Armstrong, God and the Soul. 

8 J. R. Nichols, M. D., Whence , What , Where? 


THE SPIRITUAL MAN 171 

and intangible. The description of the human mind as a “spirit¬ 
ual substance, occupying no space and having no The measurement 
form,” applies equally well to the whole psychical or °f thesouL 
soul nature of man. It cannot be isolated, or weighed, or mea¬ 
sured. Neither the physiologist, the biologist, the chemist, nor 
any other scientist, can discover it. Therefore, the terms in 
which we speak of material bodies are not quite adapted to a 
description of the soul. 

Still, unless metaphysical terms are employed, we are obliged, 
in treating of the soul, to use language which will make physical 
things the basis of comparison. It is as natural to speak of a 
whole-souled man, or a man with a large soul, as it is to call a 
man large who has a commanding physical frame. When some 
act of contemptible meanness is described the hearers almost 
involuntarily think of the perpetrator as a man with a small 
soul. The idea may not be philosophical, but it is intelligible. 
No one mistakes the meaning of terms denoting size when they 
are applied to the soul. They denote the degree of respect, or 
want of respect, which we have for the real and entire man. 

While our ignorance of motives and circumstances makes us 
unable always to form our opinions with absolute fairness and 
justice, there is a solid foundation for the principle which is 
involved in the use of terms descriptive of the size of the soul. 
As compared with the average of mankind, some men are large 
and others are small of soul. This fact does not attract as gen¬ 
eral attention as does the difference which is apparent when the 
comparison is limited to the intellectual powers. It is one of 
the most common things in life to think of & profound scholar, 
an eminent musician, or a valiant soldier, as a great man. 
Unfortunately, there is not as universal recognition, or as gen¬ 
eral appreciation, of superior moral greatness as there is of great 
intellectual power. 

The powers of the soul which can be made available at any 
one time seem to vary with the conditions in which they are 
exerted. Under the influence of some exciting event the orator 
may rise far above his usual level. Sometimes in treating the 
great themes of the Gospel a preacher speaks with unwonted 
eloquence. His soul seems to expand until it overflows. His 
hearers are carried along on a wave of feeling which originates 
in his own soul. He moves their minds as the branches of trees 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


172 

are moved by the wind. This is not a merely mental phenome¬ 
non. In a large degree it pertains to the soul. 

There may be, also, a growth and development of the soul. 
The process is similar to that of the growth and expansion of 
the mental powers. If it is properly conducted, spiritual educa¬ 
tion gives as marked results as does the training of the body or 
the cultivation of the mind. 

Then, too, like the body and the mind, the soul may decline 
in power. If the body is abused it becomes diseased and may 
soon be ruined. If the mind is neglected, or the principles upon 
which its welfare depends are violated, it soon becomes impaired. 
So the soul that is neglected or abused soon degenerates. The 
spiritual nature is dwarfed and enfeebled, and the process of 
decline may go on until its former character is almost wholly 
effaced. This may, or may not, occur in connection with physi¬ 
cal or intellectual decadence. The degradation of the higher 
nature results from causes which have to do with morals, and 
some of which do not seriously interfere with either physical or 
intellectual well-being. The coarser vices, it is true, are brutal¬ 
izing in their effects upon both body and mind, but many souls 
are ruined by sins which do not debar those who commit them 
from the most refined society. 

When an attempt is made to estimate the value of the soul 
all language fails. There are no terms in which its worth can 
ne value of the be indicated. All comparisons combined can give 
souL only the faintest idea. They hardly touch the cir¬ 

cumference of the subject. No thought of man can grasp it. 
No imagery, however vivid it may be, can picture it to the 
mind. It infinitely transcends all human comprehension. 

While we can hardly begin to understand the powers and 
capacities of the higher nature, we know that within the soul all 
the great realities of the present life are centred. Not only this, 
but all the boundless possibilities of the future pertain to the 
soul. The soul is the real man. Whatever material things the 
individual may secure will surely fall from his grasp at death. 
Houses and lands, stocks and bonds, goods and chattels, must 
all be left behind when he who has been their possessor leaves 
the world. The man who now has vast wealth at his command 
will take with him no more of the riches of this world than will 
be carried by the man who dies because he is too poor to buy 


THE SPIRITUAL MAN 


173 

food upon which to live. Each of them will have his soul, and 
neither of them will have anything but his soul, when he enters 
the unseen world. 

If the doctrine of materialism is correct, man will lose every¬ 
thing when he loses his body. When death occurs the ship 
goes down with all on board. There will be no salvage. The 
wreck is total. The ruin is eternal. To one holding this form 
of belief death is the final, and the absolutely remediless calam¬ 
ity. It is a profoundly sad, yet an inevitable conclusion of life. 

To the man who believes in an endless existence beyond the 
grave the value of the soul assumes boundless proportions. 
Sometimes the possibilities of that existence rise before him in 
unspeakable grandeur. At others they press upon him with an 
appalling weight. But it is only when he comes to realize that 
instead of having a soul somewhere within his body, as was 
formerly taught, the soul is his real being, that he gains any¬ 
thing approaching the true estimate of its value. 

This is a distinction that should be sharply drawn. We are 
apt to think of the soul as something belonging to the man. We 
should exalt it to its true position. It is the possessor instead 
of the possession. It is the man himself instead of something 
that the man has. Christ taught this truth in the most emphatic 
manner when He assured His disciples that those who could 
only kill the body were not to be feared. They could do but 
little harm because they were not able to destroy the soul. The 
life, the sufferings, and the death of Christ, as well as the doc¬ 
trines which He taught, all attest the incalculable value of the 
human soul. 

What the ultimate destiny of the soul will be depends upon 
its own decision. It may be fitted for an existence which is 
glorious beyond all human conception, or it may be so wrecked 
and ruined that its future will be filled with unspeakable horror. 
Not every one can obtain worldly riches, or secure earthly fame 
or honor, but to every man there is given an opportunity to save 
his soul. Whether he develops his good qualities, and through 
the appointed way of God reaches the true goal of his being, or 
gives himself up to evil and becomes a blot upon creation in¬ 
stead of being one of its stars, his real self will be all that he 
has, or that he ever can have, in an existence that stretches away 
into a future that knows no limits and that has no bounds. 


CHAPTER XV 


THE JOURNEY AND DESTINATION OF THE SOUL 

From an early period it has been a very general belief that 
the soul did not perish when the individual died. It is true that 
Belief in a con- this belief was not always clear and strong. The 
unued existence, light 0 f nature was dim, and for long and weary ages 
revelation was incomplete. At times faith wavered and expec¬ 
tation declined. Yet through all the mystery which has gath¬ 
ered around the close of the earthly life some rays of hope have 
penetrated. Mankind has never been willing to accept a per¬ 
manent belief that the end of life on earth was also the end of 
existence. 

It was plain, even to the dullest comprehension, that death 
wrought a great change in the individual. The power and 
The soutjourneys energy which he displayed when living entirely dis- 
to a new home. appeared when life left the body. Something which 
has been designated by a term meaning the soul, or spirit, had 
departed. And though, as far as details are concerned, there 
has been a great difference in the belief of various peoples, 
there has been a quite general supposition that at the time of 
death, or very soon afterward, the soul commenced a journey 
to some region unseen by mortal eyes. The conditions under 
which it was thought the journey must be performed, and the 
nature of the new country and the new life which it entered, 
have been strongly colored by the character and occupations of 
the people. Those who were destitute of education and who 
had made but little progress in the arts have been satisfied to 
look forward to a land in which they could have good hunting 
and fishing, in which nature would always be kindly, and into 
which sickness and trouble would never come. With the de¬ 
velopment of intellect and the advance of civilization there came 
a desire for a higher state of being than that which the savage 
regarded as giving the full measure of happiness. Instead of 
the pleasures of the chase, the companionship of the great and 


THE SPIRITUAL MAN 


175 

good was looked forward to, or at least hoped for, as one of the 
chief delights of the future existence. In later days religion has 
held out the prospect of great moral and intellectual develop¬ 
ment, and brought spiritual joys into view, thus leading to a 
nobler conception of the condition of the soul after death. 

If the views of savage and barbaric peoples are traced back 
as far as possible it will be found that for a considerable period 
the idea of a future state was very simple. Appar- , deas of unculth 
ently the new life was to be but little different from vatedraces - 
that spent upon the earth. But after a time there came into the 
conception of the new existence the idea of retribution. At 
the farthest point to which their beliefs can be traced these 
races appear to have supposed that as the good and the bad 
dwell together in this world they would continue to live in the 
same locality after death. But from some cause, whether from 
the natural instinct of justice, or from the fear which the better 
members of these rude societies must have had of the violent 
and depraved, is uncertain, this thought gave place to the idea 
of a separation of the evil from the good. The perceptions of 
right and wrong were far from clear, and the standard of admis¬ 
sion to the ranks of the good in the other world was not very 
high, but it was a marked advance in morals to recognize the 
fact of accountability for the conduct of the present life. 

Ideas regarding the situation of the home of the soul were 
widely different. Some tribes thought that it was upon the top 
of a mountain or high hill not far from the earthly Location of the 
habitation. Others thought that it lay beyond some newhome - 
distant mountain peak. Many have thought it was far away to 
the west, while some, like the ancient Peruvians, believed it to 
be in the east. In fewer instances it was supposed to lie at 
some other point of the compass. Some have believed it to be 
upon an island, and some have supposed that the chiefs of their 
tribes would have a home in the sun. 

The new home was often thought of as within or under the 
earth. This has been true even where no distinction has been 
made between the abodes of the good and those of the evil. 
But in some cases in which a difference has been supposed to 
exist, the subterranean abode was only for the wicked. The 
good found a home in a happy region far above the world. 

Among primitive peoples there appears to have been a very 


I 76 LIFE TRIUMPHANT 

general belief that the journey of the soul to its final destination 
was difficult and dangerous. The idea that at some 
various dangers. 0 £ ^‘g j ourne y a river must be crossed by walk¬ 

ing upon a small and slippery log which was liable to roll and 
precipitate the traveler into the water was very common. A 
tribe in Brazil believed that the soul was carried to the new 
home on the back of a sorcerer who flew over the intervening 
space. On the way was a perilous pass which was guarded by 
a god who examined the soul in regard to the character which 
it had formed upon earth. If the inquiry proved satisfactory 
the journey was continued, but if not the god threw the soul 
down into a raging flood. 

Some have supposed that the river which flows between the 
old home and the new must be crossed in a stone canoe which 
is propelled by some invisible power, and which will carry him 
safely if his life has been good, but will sink if he has committed 
any of the crimes which his tribe especially condemn. Others 
have thought the river must be crossed on floats made of cob¬ 
webs, while some have supposed that the point of danger in the 
journey was in a rocky defile the sides of which frequently came 
together and crushed any one who was caught between them. 

Another belief, which has prevailed to some extent, is that 
the soul is carried to the world beyond by a small bird. If the 
earthly life had been upright the journey was easily made, but if 
not a hawk would appear and prevent further progress. 

Some of the people of Greenland believe that at death the 
soul commences a journey to the centre of the earth 0 After a 
time a rocky defile is entered, down which the soul must slide. 
This part of the course requires about five days to traverse, and 
painful injuries are sustained by the soul while passing down 
the decline. But when the place of destination is reached 
troubles of every kind are at an end. 

The early Mexicans held that the journey of the soul was 
attended by many and great dangers. The winds to which it 
was exposed were sharp and penetrating, raging storms were 
encountered, deep waters were crossed, and terrible monsters, 
which must be avoided or overcome, were encountered . 1 

1 A very full and interesting account of the beliefs upon this subject of the abo¬ 
rigines of North and South America may be found in The Origin of Primitive Super - 
stitions , by R. M. Dorman. 


JAPANESE TEMPLE OF THE 33,333 GODS 

















































































THE SPIRITUAL MAN 


177 

Among many savage and barbaric peoples various rites and 
ceremonies have been observed by the survivors to aid the soul 
of the departed in making its final journey. Some, Helpgluenby 
too, have thought that if these observances were neg- • uro,ot w fiends. 
lected the soul must for a considerable time wander about its 
old home where it would not only be miserable itself but would 
make its friends unhappy. 

Certain tribes of Indians in North America lighted a fire at 
night upon all newly made graves. With some it was custom¬ 
ary to keep the fire burning longer upon the graves of the 
wicked than upon those of the good, as they thought the former 
would have a longer and more perilous journey than the latter, 
and would therefore need assistance for a longer period. Others 
appear to have made no difference in this respect, but to have 
kept the fire burning the same length of time for all. In the 
“ Song of Hiawatha,” Longfellow thus refers to this custom : — 

“ Four days is the spirit’s journey 
To the land of ghosts and shadows, 

Four its lonely night encampments ; 

Four times must their fires be lighted. 

Therefore, when the dead are buried, 

Let a fire, as night approaches, 

Four times on the grave be kindled, 

That the soul upon its journey 
May not lack the cheerful fire-light, 

May not grope about in darkness.” 

Some Indians practiced burying their dead in the morning, and 
thought that the soul would reach its destination and find its rela¬ 
tives and friends before night. In Lapland a flint was put into 
the grave to enable the deceased to light his way to the new home. 

Where somewhat less crude notions have prevailed efforts of 
other kinds have been made to help the soul in its last great 
journey. In some parts of Europe the peasants opened a win¬ 
dow when a person was dying in order that the soul could leave 
its old home without delay. A piece of money was placed in 
the mouth of a dead person so that the needs of the soul might 
be supplied while the journey was being made. A similar idea 
was held by many of the Greeks. Before they buried a body 
they put a piece of money into the mouth for the ferryman who 
was to take the soul over the river Styx, and a cake made of 
flour and honey “ to appease the fury of Cerberus, who guarded 
the entrance into hell.” 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


178 

In Russia some of the ceremonies were of a religious nature. 
Before a body was buried a passport for heaven was made out, 
Religious cere- signed by some official of the church, and placed 
monies. between the hands of the dead. At the grave 

prayers, which were supposed to help the soul in its journey and 
enable it to reach its destination, were offered by the attending 
' priest. 

It is supposed that, in some cases at least, where cremation 
was practiced in early times instead of burial, this method of 

disposing of the body was followed in order to help 

Cremation. r ° J , 1 . . 

the soul reach its home. If the soul remained in 
the body after death fire would certainly set it free. And it was 
not difficult for men who lived so largely in the world of nature 
to imagine that the soul would be carried to the sky upon the 
cloud of smoke that was formed by the fire in which the body 
was consumed. 

People of uncivilized races appear to have thought that when 
the soul completed its journey many of the old conditions of life 
Equipment for the would be resumed. Therefore they not only did 
newtife. many things for the purpose of aiding the soul while 

the journey was in progress, but they also endeavored to furnish 
it a proper equipment for life and work in its new home. The 
weapons and implements which the deceased had used in life 
were laid upon, or put within, his grave in order that he might 
continue to hunt and fish, or to carry on his old employments, 
in the country to which he had gone. Other articles which he 
had prized were also placed near the body so that he might not 
be deprived of them in the new life. It was supposed that all 
of these things had souls which the soul of the man could use 
while the forms of the things and that of the man remained in 
or near the grave. 

Among some peoples when a king or a powerful chief died 
his wives and a number of his servants were killed so that the 
rank and conditions of this life could be continued. Children, 
too, were sometimes put to death to keep the parent from being 
lonely in the new place of abode. In early times when an Arab 
died his best camel was fastened near his grave and left to per¬ 
ish, so that its master would not be deprived of its services, and, 
for a similar reason, some Europeans killed the horse of a war¬ 
rior near his grave. Perhaps the most pathetic custom of this 


THE SPIRITUAL MAN 


179 

kind was that adopted by a tribe in Greenland who buried a dog 
in the grave of a little child, not only to furnish it company, but 
also that it might lead the way, which, perhaps, the little one 
could not find unaided, to the home of souls. 

Though often manifested in a useless and grotesque manner, 
this regard for the departed, and desire to aid them in the jour¬ 
ney beyond the grave, shows a kindly feeling in the Expression of a 
hearts of even the lower races of men. It is true kmdly /ee// ' 7flf * 
that in some instances services have been performed in part for 
the protection of the living, but even then there was also a de¬ 
sire to benefit the dead, and it is probable that in the great 
majority of cases this has been the principal if not the only 
motive. The feeling is in marked contrast with much that is 
commonly associated with a savage state, and, appearing as it 
has, during many ages and in widely separated parts of the 
world, it is an indication that there is much that is good even in 
degraded humanity. 

Leaving the savage races, we find, among the civilized nations 
of antiquity, the expression of an elaborate belief regarding the 
journey and destination of the soul after death in views of the 
the works of the Egyptians. It must be noted, how- E ^P tians - 
ever, that the views of this people were not the same at all peri¬ 
ods in their history. Frequent additions appear to have been 
made to their great ritual, the “ Book of the Dead,” and these 
did not always harmonize with the older text. Still, the people 
seem never to have lost a belief in an existence of some kind 
after the soul had left the body. 

The preservation of the body was regarded as of the utmost 
importance, as upon this very largely depended the life of the 
soul. Some held that if the body was allowed to decay the soul 
would waste away. In any case the dissolution of the body 
would be a great disaster. Consequently, embalming, by which 
the body could be preserved indefinitely, was a universal prac¬ 
tice. During this process, which occupied several weeks, the 
soul was believed to be either dead or in a deep sleep. But 
when the body was prepared for its reception it returned. 

Extracts from the “ Book of the Dead ” were placed by the 
body, and buried with it. These were to guard the soul against 
the evils to which it would be exposed and to enable it to answer 
all questions that might be asked,, as well as to use effectively 


i8o 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


all needed charms. In the case of poor people these extracts 
were brief. For the rich, where more expense could be afforded, 
they were often very elaborate. They were written upon papy¬ 
rus and kept practically ready for use by the scribes and embalm- 
ers. All that was needed in any given case was to select one 
of the proper length, and, in the blank space which had been 
left for that purpose, write the name of the individual in whose 
behalf it was obtained. 

The Egyptians believed that the soul, like the body, was com¬ 
posed of different parts. Of these some were superior to others, 
and, for a time at least, were capable of a separate existence. 
Consequently, when the term “ soul ” was used it did not neces¬ 
sarily mean all of the man except his body, but might indicate 
one of the various elements of the higher nature. 

The removal of the mummy to its final resting-place was at¬ 
tended with many ceremonies. After it had been accomplished, 
some part of the spiritual man, in this case called the soul, was 
supposed to escape from an opening which had been left in the 
tomb for that purpose. It then sailed in the bark of the god 
Osiris to a place at which an examination of its merits was to 
be made. 

If the first test to which the soul is here subjected proves 
unsatisfactory it is condemned to enter a new body, to be tor¬ 
mented by the mind, and in various ways to go through a long 
process of degradation which, apparently, could only end in 
utter destruction. But if the test proves successful the soul 
gathers its separated members and returns to the mummy. 
Then follows a period of existence which is in the nature of a 
probation and which is beset with dangers of various kinds. 
These dangers must be overcome by the aid of the restored fac¬ 
ulties of the soul and by following the directions quoted from 
the “ Book of the Dead.” The way is long and weary, venom¬ 
ous creatures often appear, evil spirits assail, and monsters of 
terrible appearance constantly guard the gates through which 
the soul that is to reach the goal must pass. 

During this terrible journey the soul has been growing purer, 
and when the end is reached it has attained a stage at which it 
receives justification and is publicly proclaimed to be worthy of 
eternal life. Then under the happiest of conditions the earthly 
employments are resumed in the heavenly fields. The wheat 


THE SPIRITUAL MAN 


181 


reaches a height of seven cubits, of which two cubits represent 
the ear. The labor is light and many helpers are provided. 
Feasting and singing occupy much of the time. If it tires of 
this life the soul can use the power which enables it to take 
various forms, such as those of a dove, a heron, a hawk, or a 
lotus flower. Or it can become a spirit of light, and range at 
will “ over the vast region where the stars forever shine.” 1 

The ancient Assyrians believed that after death the soul 
remained near the body from which it had been separated, and 
was sustained by the offerings of food and drink Beiiefofthe 
which were made to the dead. At an early period Ass y rians • 
there was a marked change in their views of the destination of 
the soul. They came to think of the dead as prisoners of the 
cruel goddess Allat, who reigns with the god Nergal over a 
gloomy region far away from earth. In this vast inclosure, sur¬ 
rounded by seven walls, suffering from hunger and thirst and 
cold, the souls of the dead remain in hopeless misery. This 
doctrine, in time, gave way to a higher conception of the future 
life and to a belief in a more merciful treatment of departed 
souls. Instead of consigning all men to a realm of unbroken 
darkness and unending despair, the teachers came to think and 
assert that the souls of the great and good would reach a land 
in which life was to be crowned with joy. Gradually they came 
to include in this happy number all those who had offered proper 
worship to the gods and had lived well while upon the earth. 
They believed that while the funeral services were being per¬ 
formed the soul made its journey to its heavenly home which 
lies far away to the southern extremity of the universe upon the 
summit of the “ Mountain of the World .” 2 

The followers of Zoroaster believed that at the coming of the 
dawn which follows the third night after death the soul, whether 
righteous or wicked, enters a way which was made The teachings of 
by Time and upon which there is a holy bridge. At Zoroaster ‘ 
the head of this bridge it seeks a reward for the good deeds of 
the earthly life. If the good in the life of the petitioner has 
been greater than the evil, a fair maid, with dogs at her sides, 
makes the soul rise to the home of the gods upon the heavenly 
mountain from which goes forth the rising sun. If evil, instead 

1 Mariette, The Monuments of Upper Egypt. 

2 Masp^ro, Ancie?it Egypt and Assyria. 


182 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


of good, has been the rule of life, the soul descends to a place 
of darkness and suffering. Those in whom the good and evil 
appeared in equal proportions were sent to an intermediate realm 
to await the decision of a final judgment. 

According to some interpretations, the bridge which the soul 
was compelled to cross was directly over hell. When the right¬ 
eous attempted to pass over it there was an increase in its width 
which enabled him to proceed in safety, but when a wicked soul 
tried to make the journey the bridge became as narrow as a 
thread, and caused the traveler to fall into the abyss beneath. 

The decisions which were reached at this trial of the soul were 
not final. Some have thought that souls which were condemned 
to an intermediate state underwent a process of purification, and 
when this was completed were admitted to the full glory of the 
Zoroastrian heaven. Possibly this doctrine is a later develop¬ 
ment which was grafted upon the ancient faith. But the older 
view did not look upon the punishment of even the worst soul 
as everlasting. For the general order of the world was to come 
to an end in twelve thousand years from its beginning , 1 when a 
universal restoration to happiness would be effected. 

The early Hindus believed that when the body was laid in the 
grave, or was destroyed by fire, the soul, if cleansed of its sins, 
The early Hindu was given wings upon which to fly to the spirit land 
view ' in which all souls had their home before they were 

born into this world. In their flight they crossed the stream of 
eternity, and at the entrance to the home of the blessed they 
were obliged to pass two ferocious dogs, which allowed only 
those who were pure to pass through. In this new home the 
light never grows dim, and the spring of purest water never 
fails. Here no sickness can enter, no sorrow can come. All 
the longings of the soul find complete satisfaction, and the whole 
being is filled with delight. But the souls which had failed to 
render homage to the gods, or which had lived in sin, were sent 
to a region far below, where they were compelled to remain in 
darkness as long as life was continued. As to the duration of 
this period nothing is certainly known. Some have thought 
that the soul was soon annihilated. Others have believed that 
its existence was continued, either for a long indefinite period 
or perhaps forever. 

1 W. R. Alger, Doctrine of a Future Life . 


THE SPIRITUAL MAN 


133 

In the development of the later philosophies of the East, the 
comparatively simple belief of the Hindus of earlier times passed 
through great changes. It received so many addi- The Theosophical 
tions and modifications that it became, to all intents be,ief ‘ 
and purposes, a new system. The doctrine of transmigration of 
souls was at first merely an addition, but in time it came to be 
one of the chief principles of the faith. Then, too, in place of 
the eternal joy which the pure soul was to experience forever in 
a heavenly home, there came a desire for the extinction of the 
personal life in a union with one of the gods. These beliefs 
still hold the leading place in the Theosophical System, which 
may be regarded as the leading modern exponent of the occult 
faiths of the Oriental world. 

According to this philosophy there is a great astral region in, 
around, and even penetrating the earth upon which we live. It 
is not ruled by the laws which govern the physical world, and 
its inhabitants are not subject to the conditions regarding time 
and space which here prevail. This region is Kama loka, the 
place of desire, and here the soul goes through a process of edu¬ 
cation or purification to fit it for advancement to a higher state 
of being . 1 

In an article on “The Conditions of Life After Death ,” 2 
Mrs. Annie Besant has given a quite elaborate statement of the 
present Theosophical belief regarding the journey of the soul 
and its final destination. In common with the Christian faith, 
and the doctrines of certain other religions, this system teaches 
that the character of the life here has a powerful influence in 
determining the condition of the soul after the separation from 
the body which occurs at death. But in various other respects 
there is a marked contrast between the theories which it advances 
and the beliefs commonly held by those who do not accept its 
principles and interpretations. Some of the points which are of 
special interest in this connection, and which have been elabo¬ 
rately treated by Mrs. Besant and other Theosophical writers, 
will be noted. 

At the time of death the soul leaves the body which it has 
used through life, but it does not go forth as a pure spirit. On 
the contrary, “ it is clothed in a violet-gray body,” which is 

1 William Q. Judge, The Ocean of Theosophy. 

2 Nineteenth Century , November, 1896. 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


184 

formed of ethers, or of matter -rarer than any of the gases with 
which we are familiar. In this body it remains, usually in a 
dreamy state, for only a few hours. Then, escaping from all 
earthy matter, it enters Kama loka, or the astral plane of exist¬ 
ence. This corresponds to the hell of some forms of religion, to 
the intermediate state of others, and, perhaps more closely than 
to either of these, to the purgatory of the Roman Catholic faith. 

In this new home of the soul there are a large number of con¬ 
ditions or spheres, some say not less than one hundred thousand ; 
but there are seven which are regarded as of the principal im¬ 
portance; the others, apparently, being intermediate. Which 
of these regions will be entered is determined by the character 
of the astral body into which the soul passed when it left the 
first body with which it was provided after death. The seven 
regions differ from each other in respect to the condition of the 
forms of matter of which whatever exists in them is composed. 
In some the matter is much more dense than it is in others. 
This fact prevents intercommunication, as well as furnishes an 
infallible indication of the place in which each individual soul 
will find its home. For the astral bodies are composed of the 
same kinds of matter as the forms which exist in the seven dif¬ 
ferent regions, and they must go where the matter is dense or 
rare, according to their own composition. As the bird seeks 
the air and the fish the water, so the soul in the astral body 
seeks the conditions for which it has become fitted by the dis¬ 
cipline and experience of earth. 

The soul that has, while on the earth, indulged in sensual 
pleasures, given full rein to passion, and has passed a coarse, 
animal existence, goes to the seventh or lowest region of the 
astral plane. Here the conditions are terrible beyond descrip¬ 
tion. The air is thick and heavy. Darkness forever reigns. 
Passion and fury are let loose; and the rage of the souls 
here brought together knows no bounds. These souls are also 
able to exert an evil influence upon people still on the earth, 
and at times they visit dens of iniquity and urge their inmates 
on in crime. But as the loss of their physical bodies prevents 
their own continuance in the vicious practices to which they 
were accustomed, their evil passions are gradually worn out, and 
the soul proceeds to another division of the astral region. 

The sixth, fifth, and fourth regions have some resemblance to 


THE SPIRITUAL MAN 


185 

earth, and differ from each other mainly by becoming less gross 
as progress is made. Souls which were largely subject to the 
lower nature, but not absolutely depraved, and those which were 
mainly employed with the trivial things of life, are here detained 
until they overcome or surrender these earthly desires. 

In the third region may be found souls whose general con¬ 
duct had been good, but who were wanting in knowledge and 
liberality in religious belief. They construct houses and estab¬ 
lish churches and schools from the astral materials, and make 
for themselves the kind of heaven which they looked forward to 
while on earth. 

The second region is peopled by souls who were more cul¬ 
tured than those of lower planes, but who were selfish in the 
use of their talents, or who failed to reach a high plane in the 
religious life. They here undergo a process of education and 
refinement which will fit them for an advanced state of being. 

The first region has for its inhabitants intellectual souls who 
have been engrossed with materialistic affairs and have given 
too little thought to spiritual things. Here the conditions are 
not such as to cause suffering, or even great discomfort, though 
wanting in the freedom and joy of a higher state of being. 

The process of purification and development which goes on 
in the seven states which have been described is not necessary 
for all souls. If the earthly life has been without reproach, and 
the soul has gained complete mastery over the body, no further 
trial is required. Then, if it surrenders its desires for life on the 
earth, and is not disturbed by the mourning and longing of its 
friends, it passes into a sleep which is cheered by “ rosy dreams,” 
and which is continued until the astral body disappears. How 
long a time will be required for the dispersion of the elements 
of the astral body is uncertain; but from the teachings of vari¬ 
ous Theosophical writers it may be inferred that, though in 
some instances it may extend over a long period, yet in the case 
of those who do not have to undergo a process of discipline or 
education it is completed in about thirty-six hours. When the 
last vestige of the astral body is gone, the soul has a brief period 
of unconsciousness, and then awakes to the bliss of devachan. 

The term “ devachan ” is used to denote the place or state 
which corresponds to the heaven of the Christian and the place 
of rest and reward of various other religions. It is described as 


i 86 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


“ a specially guarded part of the vast world of the mind.” Here, 
having risen through the physical and astral planes, the soul 
finds its true home. Here it is watched over by high spiritual 
intelligences, and is shielded from sorrow and evil of every kind. 

The soul has in this state what is known as its mental body. 
This is the organism through which the powers of the mind are 
manifested. It partakes of the quality of the soul and becomes 
more beautiful and more perfect as the soul increases in know¬ 
ledge and power. In the process of development it becomes a 
truly glorious body which covers the real body of the soul which 
St. Paul designates as the “ spiritual body,” and which endures 
through all the changes of the existence of the soul. 

Like the astral region, the place of happiness has seven prin¬ 
cipal divisions. Of these four are classed as the lower and three 
as the higher states. In the former, the mental powers predomi¬ 
nate. In the latter, the nobler functions of the soul are called 
into active exercise. 

The seventh region is the lowest of all. It is inhabited by 
souls of narrow breadth and small development but which were 
devoted to their families and friends and were sometimes unself¬ 
ish in their affection. Here progress is slow but happiness is 
complete to the extent of the limited capacity for enjoyment. 

In the sixth region are gathered the souls of those who while 
on earth were seekers after God. Worship is the chief occupa¬ 
tion. Here what they sought under widely differing names on 
earth is found, and each soul is filled with ecstatic joy. 

The fifth region is the home of souls which while in the 
world not only led upright lives but were also helpful to their 
fellow men. Here they grow wiser and better and become fitted 
for more efficient labor for the welfare of the race when, in new 
bodies, they return to live again upon the earth. 

The fourth region is by far the most attractive of the lower 
spheres. Here are found the souls of those who in their lives 
in this world were the great moral and intellectual leaders and 
teachers of men. In their new home they continue to guide 
and instruct the souls which they influenced while here. The 
ambitious ones, too, who never reached their ideals and who 
were unable to carry out their plans for usefulness, are in this 
sphere and are developing their powers for employment in a 
later stage of being. 


THE SPIRITUAL MAN 


I 8 7 

In the sublime height of the third region the soul is for a time 
in an embryonic state, but it gradually develops, making use of 
all that was valuable in its former states of existence and coming 
at length to a clear perception of the truth. 

The second region is marked by the rapid development of the 
intellectual and moral character. Here souls have a memory of 
the past and are able to form opinions concerning the future. 
They are in close fellowship with other souls of a similar state 
of development. They will live noble lives when they return to 
earth, and will never lose the powers which they have attained. 

The first region is “ the highest of the heavens.” Here the 
souls of the masters and initiates are gathered. Here is the 
source from which the loftiest intellectual forces of the earth 
are drawn, and here all that is pure and noble and majestic in 
the human soul finds its complete development. 

With the exception of those who while on earth never cared 
for any but themselves, and who had no aspiration for life above 
the purely physical plane, the Theosophical philosophy teaches 
that all souls will eventually rise to a heavenly state. But it is 
worthy of note that for those who do not live well here this final 
destination of the soul is only to be reached through long 
periods of severe discipline. For all such the journey from 
earth to the home in which peace is found is unutterably pain¬ 
ful and wearisome. 

In the early period of their prominence as a people the Greeks 
held a gloomy doctrine concerning the place and condition of 
the soul after it left the body. To them this world Theories of the 
was home. Existence here was the only life which Greeks * 
they believed to be worth living. All beyond was dark. Yet 
they did not look for or hope for annihilation. They preferred 
a life that was, according to their own conceptions, far from 
desirable, to the alternative of utterly perishing. And so their 
philosophers taught, and it is probable that the majority of the 
people believed, that, while life upon earth was the supreme 
good, there was something in man that would not perish at 
death. 

When death came as the result of natural causes the soul was 
supposed to depart with the breath, but when the warrior died 
from injuries received in battle his soul passed from his body 
through the open wounds. 


x88 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


There was no joy or triumph in the final hour. No light shed 
its beams upon the course beyond, and no hope cheered the 
traveler as he entered upon his journey into the unknown 
world. 

After its reluctant parting from the body, and its crossing of 
the river Styx, the soul was supposed to fly to a world which 
was the common home of the dead. By some writers this was 
thought to be in the centre of the earth. Others located it 
below the world, and some believed it to be far away to the west. 
In this world the soul came under the power of deities who were 
unfriendly to mankind. 

In various respects the new home was a marred and meagre 
picture of the one upon earth. There were plains, and rivers, 
and trees. But instead of fertility there was barrenness; in 
place of the refreshing waters of earth the streams were filled 
with sorrow, and hate, and fire. Even the trees were of an infe¬ 
rior variety. The whole attitude of nature was regarded as 
unfriendly. 

Another element of misery was found in the darkness which 
constantly prevailed, and which was expected to continue in this 
great home of departed souls. 

“ There, as’t is given out, 

Or Night forever sleeps, untimed, unvoiced, 

And, in o’erspreading darkness shadows grim 
Grow dense.” 

But, dismal as were their surroundings, the physical and 
mental condition of the inhabitants were still more pitiable. 
There was a bodily form, but it was thin and unsubstantial. In 
a shadowy way the employments which had been followed upon 
earth were continued in this region of gloom. At times intelli¬ 
gence and interest revived for a brief period, but with these 
exceptions existence was vague and unreal except in its hopeless 
weariness. Even the rulers of this great realm were subject to 
these appalling conditions, yet they were as powerless to escape 
as were the weakest of its inhabitants. The lot of the poorest 
laborer upon earth was regarded as superior to that of the 
mightiest sovereign of the dead. 

Nearly all of the early Greek literature which bears upon this 
subject teaches a common doom for all. Only a few passages 
indicate a belief in either rewards or punishments for the deeds 


THE SPIRITUAL MAN 


189 

of good or ill which had been performed in this world, and some 
of these are believed by leading Greek scholars to be of a later 
date than the body of the text in which they appear. It is 
claimed, also, that some of the statements which have been sup¬ 
posed to teach the doctrine of retribution were not accurately 
interpreted. 

Whatever may be true of isolated passages, the fact remains 
that the general teaching of this period was that moral character 
had nothing to do with the future state. Souls of the good 
made the same journey and arrived at the same destination as 
the souls of the wicked. The evils of the underworld were 
regarded as the natural and inevitable outcome of removal from 
life in this world. If good was rewarded and evil was punished 
it was before, not after, death. 

At a later period there came into the Greek philosophy the 
idea of justice in the future life. But this thought was devel¬ 
oped very slowly. For a time it had reference only to the 
extremely wicked. Great offenders were selected for special 
punishment. Their tortures were of the most terrible descrip¬ 
tion, and no hope of relief in the future was offered. But the 
great mass of souls were not affected by this change. 

The idea that a good life upon earth would be rewarded here¬ 
after appears to have come still later than that of punishment 
for an evil course of conduct. When they began to picture hap¬ 
piness in the future, the Greek writers did not present it as the 
reward of virtue, but as the special gift of the gods. Here, too, 
the masses were not considered. The gods cared nothing for 
them. Joy was bestowed upon only a few who were chosen 
because they had either sustained a mortal relationship to the 
gods or had in some manner secured their good-will. The 
favored ones were taken to their new abode without passing 
through the gates of death. 

The glaring injustice of the conditions which have been 
described at length led to a belief that all of the wicked would 
eventually be punished, and all who were good would be re¬ 
warded. Hades, the world of departed souls, was divided into 
three parts: Erebus, where all were obliged to appear for judg¬ 
ment; Tartarus, in which the wicked were confined and pun¬ 
ished ; and Elysium, where the good were to find perfect 
happiness. 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


190 

In Erebus were judges who passed upon the merits of all 
who entered Hades. At first there were three, Rhadamanthus, 
Minos, and Abacus, but at a later period Triptolemus was added 
to their number. Before some one of these each soul must 
appear. The judges were wise, upright, and absolutely impar¬ 
tial. They sentenced the wicked to Tartarus, where fearful and 
continuous punishment was to be endured. The good they 
admitted to the Elysian Fields, lying far away to the west, where 
perpetual summer reigns, the breezes are constant and refresh¬ 
ing, the flowers forever bloom, and life is an unfading and an 
unending scene of delight. According to some of the later 
legends, however, the dead were permitted to drink of the 
waters of the river Lethe, which caused them to sink into utter 
oblivion. 

How far the views of the philosophers influenced the common 
people of their times it is impossible to say. Most of the works 
in which ideas of the future life were set forth were poetical, and 
dealt largely in fictitious scenes and events. By many of the 
scholars of the time they were looked upon as mythical, and it is 
probable that the masses were not very strongly influenced by 
works of which they knew but little and which many of them at 
least did not understand. Still, the fragments of this literature 
concerning the future life which became available to them prob¬ 
ably did something toward awakening or strengthening a hope 
that, for the good at least, death would not prove to be either 
the end of existence or the gate to eternal misery. 

In respect to the destiny of man the belief of the Romans 
closely corresponded to that of the Greeks. There was the 

same diversity of opinion and the same wavering: 

The Roman idea. J * . ,° 

between faith and doubt. There were periods in 
which belief in a future life declined to a very low point, and 
others in which hope became stronger and seemed to prevail. 
But the general teaching of their literature, and the tone of the 
inscriptions upon their tombs, is to the effect that man finds his 
true happiness in this world. What lies beyond the change 
wrought by death is a profound mystery. Whether the soul 
perishes as it parts from the body, or journeys to some realm 
which mortal vision has never penetrated, is wholly unknown. 
And if it survives, the place and condition of the soul are mat¬ 
ters upon which their philosophy could give no clear light and 


THE SPIRITUAL MAN 


191 

concerning which the gods whom they worshiped could make 
no revelation. 

The belief of the ancient Jews had certain points of similarity 
with that of some of the Greek philosophers, though in other 
respects it was widely different. Both believed that Belief of the ean y 
the soul left the body at death and that it made a Jew8 ’ 
journey to a great underworld into which all souls came and in 
which they were, for a time at least, detained. Both believed 
that existence was shadowy and unreal, that the mind and the 
affections were absent or inactive, and that the home of this 
mere shade of the former man was a desolate region in which 
the deepest darkness prevailed. There was also substantial 
agreement regarding the relation of the departed soul to its for¬ 
mer life. Although a few references and incidents appear to 
give a different view, the general line of teaching in the earlier 
and middle portions of the Old Testament Scriptures is that the 
dead have no remembrance of the friends whom they left in this 
world, and no interest in, or even knowledge of, earthly affairs. 

Still another similarity of belief was in regard to an utter lack 
of moral distinctions. There was no idea of retribution in the 
world to which the soul went at death. The difference in the 
lot of the righteous and that of the wicked had reference, in a 
great majority of the cases in which they are contrasted, merely 
and only to this present world. When they were removed from 
earth the good and the bad went to the same place and were 
subject to the same conditions. 

But while there was a great deal in common in their ideas 
concerning existence in the underworld, there was one respect 
in which it must have appeared to the Jews as far more dis¬ 
astrous than it did to the Greeks. This was in the thought of 
being cut off from all knowledge of and communion with their 
God. Thus David laments that “ in death there is no remem¬ 
brance of thee : in Sheol who shall give thee thanks ? ” It was 
supposed, too, that God would forget the inhabitants of this 
underworld. Even those who had loved and served Him on 
earth would be removed from his care. The author of the 
eighty-eighth Psalm speaks of himself as being utterly forgotten: 

“ Cast off among the dead, 

Like the slain that lie in the grave, 

Whom thou rememberest no more ; 

And they are cut off from thy hand.” 


ig2 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


And this appears to have been regarded as the common lot of 
the people of.God. 

Yet it is probable that there was a hope, and among the more 
devout Jews an expectation, that the gloomy state of existence 
in Sheol, as this underworld was called, would come to an end 
and that it would be followed by a far happier condition. The 
: covenants made with the patriarchs must have led the thought¬ 
ful mind to suppose that these great leaders, and the descend¬ 
ants who followed in their footsteps, would eventually be released 
from the abode which they entered at death. It seems certain 
that those who had followed the light which had been given 
would not look upon the meagre and helpless existence in Sheol 
as the end of their being and the final outcome of life. They 
probably regarded it as an unutterably dreary yet not an endless 
condition, and looked for a time when they would be delivered 
from all evil influences and surroundings. Then, free from all 
limitations of the earth and of the underworld, their souls would 
find “pleasures forevermore ” in the immediate presence of God. 

In the later books of the Old Testament light upon the future 
state of the soul becomes clearer, and a stronger hope of deliv¬ 
erance from Sheol is expressed. There was to be a ransom 
from the grave and a redemption from death. And yet the 
view is limited. Deliverance was supposed by the Jew of this 
period to be for his own race and people alone. Of a hope for 
mankind at large he knew nothing. 

Among Mohammedans the journey and destination of the 
soul after death has been a subject of long-continued discussion. 
Mohammedan Many opinions have been offered, and widely vary- 
teachings. ing conc i us i ons have been reached. There appears, 

however, to have been a common belief that the souls of the 
prophets immediately enter heaven. The souls of men who 
have given their lives for the defense of the faith are supposed 
to be inhabitants of the same happy abode, but to find their 
homes in the crops of birds who live in the heavenly land. Of 
the common people, those who pass an examination in the 
sepulchre, made by two dark angels who obtain from the dead a 
statement concerning their faith, are admitted to heaven. Those 
who have not been true believers are rejected at the heavenly 
gate and thrown into an abyss in which they undergo severe 
suffering. These conditions are supposed to last only until the 


THE MOSQUE OF OMAR, ON THE SUPPOSED SITE OF THE TEMPLE OF SOLOMON. 
















































































I H 

















THE SPIRITUAL MAN 


193 


resurrection, which will be immediately followed by a general 
judgment. Then another test of belief and character is to be 
made in the presence of all human beings who have ever lived. 
Many, in all, hold that during this interval between death and 
the judgment all souls are in a state of unconsciousness, but 
the majority believe in a conscious existence immediately after 
death. 

When the soul has received its sentence, it is required to pass 
over a bridge, which has one of its ends upon earth and the 
other in paradise, and which passes directly over hell — a test 
similar to that required of the followers of Zoroaster. This 
bridge is represented f as being “ thinner than a hair, sharper 
than a razor, and hotter than flame.” Mohammed is supposed 
to lead the way. The righteous will cross with the quickness of 
lightning. The edge of the bridge will grow broad enough to 
be traversed with ease, and the wings of attendant angels will 
keep their sight from the great lake of fire over which the soul 
has to pass. Thus the faithful Mohammedan makes his journey 
to the paradise which is to be his final home. For the believer 
who has failed to reach the proper standard for admission to 
paradise there will be a punishment, the severity of which will 
be determined by his character, but which, in no case, can be 
eternal. Sooner or later every such soul will reach a state of 
blessedness in which he will forever remain. But for the unbe¬ 
liever there is no hope. His effort to cross the bridge will be in 
vain. He will fall into the blazing fire, and his punishment 
therein will be everlasting. 

During the interval, variously estimated as covering a period 
of from a little more than a century and a half to nearly four 
centuries, between the close of the Old Testament and the com¬ 
ing of Christ, the idea that after death the soul would enter a 
place in which it would be either rewarded for good or punished 
for evil, increased in strength. This may have been due in part 
to foreign influence, but was probably in a great measure the 
natural growth of a doctrine which commended itself to the 
intelligence of all, as well as satisfied the longings of religious 
people. Be this as it may, it is certain that when Christ ap¬ 
peared there was a widely spread belief that the soul survived 
death; that upon its separation from the body it went to some 
' place, in which it continued its conscious existence; 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


194 

and that the conditions of that existence were largely deter¬ 
mined by the character of the life which it had passed upon the 
earth. 

In the Christian faith this article of belief assumed great im¬ 
portance. Christ said but little concerning it in the way of 
ne doctrine of detail, but He made it unmistakably clear that this 
ohrist. 1 if e is merely a preparation for something which lies 

beyond, which is of supreme importance, and the conditions of 
which will be determined by the character which is formed 
before the soul leaves the body. 

The life, the work, the sufferings, and the death of Christ all 
had reference to the soul of man. According to His teachings 
the soul was the man. It could be saved or it could be lost. 
Its journey and destination were to be determined by the indi¬ 
vidual choice. The man who was saved might lose everything 
else, but his soul would be secure. The man who was lost might 
gain many things pertaining to this world, but his own being, 
his personal self, was a fearful ruin. 

But while Christ taught all this, in the most solemn and 
emphatic manner, He did not enter into particulars regarding 
Differing views of the place and condition of the soul in the interval 
Christians. between its departure from earth and the final and 
public determination of its destiny which He foretold. This 
absence of detail has led to differing views on the part of His 
followers. Many hold that at death the soul leaves the body 
and immediately enters either heaven or hell. This is the doc¬ 
trine of Calvinistic churches. It is stated in the Westminster 
Confession as follows: “ The souls of believers are, at their 
death, made perfect in holiness, and do immediately pass into 
glory.” . . . “ The souls of the wicked are, at death, cast into 
hell.” Though at a later period they will be reunited with their 
bodies, the home and condition of these souls will remain fixed 
forever. 

A large number of Christians believe that there is a great 
intermediate realm into which souls pass at death. Some hold 
that this consists of two divisions: Paradise for the good, and 
Hades for the evil. Many think that Hades is a place of dis¬ 
cipline in which souls may be purified and fitted for a happier 
condition; and there are not a few who hold that Paradise is a 
place of education and development for souls which thoueh 


THE SPIRITUAL MAN 


195 


having a degree of saving grace, are not fully prepared for 
heaven. Under their appropriate heads these views, together 
with the doctrine held by some that the soul is unconscious 
between death and the resurrection, and also certain other 
related beliefs, will be considered in a later portion of this 
book. 


CHAPTER XVI 


TRANSMIGRATION OF THE SOUL 

Among the various theories which men have held of the life 
and condition of the soul after its separation from the body, that 
a widely accepted of transmigration, or metempsychosis, as it was 
belief ‘ called by the Greeks, is one of the most remarkable. 

It was one of the articles of belief of the ancient Egyptians, can 
be traced back to very early times in India, and has been found 
among many uncivilized tribes in widely separated parts of the 
world. For thousands of years it has been held by vast num¬ 
bers of people. It has been introduced into philosophical as 
well as religious systems. At the present day most of its be¬ 
lievers are found in Oriental lands, though it is held to a limited 
extent in both Europe and America. 

The leading principle of this doctrine is that the soul of man, 
though set free from the body at death, will continue to live, 
The doctrine either in another human body or in some other 
stated. form of matter. The great majority of those who 

hold this theory believe that the process of change may be, and 
probably will be, repeated a great number of times before either 
a final state of being or an extinction of personality will be 
attained. But while this idea has always been a vital part of 
the belief of those who have held the doctrine of the transmi¬ 
gration of the soul, there have been various important points 
concerning which there was a wide difference of opinion. The 
details of the doctrine have also varied greatly among the same 
people at different periods of their history. 

This doctrine seems to have grown out of an older belief, 
which was very common among primitive peoples, that after 
Origin of the death man was transformed into a member of the 
doctrine. particular class of animals or plants which had been 

his “ totem,” or symbol of his clan or family, during life. Ani¬ 
mals, and even trees and plants, were supposed by the savage 
races to have souls, and it was thought that these souls were 


THE SPIRITUAL MAN 


197 

organized into societies or tribes like their own. It was cus¬ 
tomary to select some particular class of these spirits with which 
to form an alliance. For this purpose an animal, as the bear or 
wolf, was usually chosen. By this choice the man became a 
member of the totem animals’ clan, and the animals of that class 
were joined to the savage clan. The animals also became ob¬ 
jects of veneration, and in many, perhaps in most, cases were 
worshiped. Some savages even believed that they had de¬ 
scended from these animals. The totem animal was never 
hunted. The members of some tribes would not kill a bear, 
those of others always spared the crow, and so through a long 
list of the common animals, birds, and fishes. Each tribe care¬ 
fully refrained from injuring an animal belonging to the class 
represented by its totem. When a man died he was supposed 
to join his totem again and take the form of the animal which it 
represented. This transformation appears to have been consid¬ 
ered both a duty and a privilege. The close union of men with 
animals which was thus established would make acceptance of 
the doctrine of transmigration much easier than it could have 
been if the great difference which civilized people believe to 
exist between humanity and the brute creation had been recog¬ 
nized. 1 

With the growth of the idea of rewards and punishments for 
the good or the evil done in the present life, the belief in the 
transmigration of the soul was gradually changed. A modification of 
At first it became allowable for the soul to enter the belief ’ 
body of some other animal than that of its totem. This was 
followed by a belief that a higher state of being might be in 
reserve for the good, and that only the souls of the wicked 
would have to continue their existence in the animal form. Still 
another element introduced into this strange doctrine was the 
idea that by means of the discipline which it would undergo in 
the process of transmigration, the soul would become purer and 
nobler, until at length it would reach such a state of perfection 
that it would be merged into the Divine Being and its exist¬ 
ence as a separate personality would cease forever. From time 
to time other changes in the form of the doctrine, or additions 
to its original principles, have been made. In different places, 
too, it has been and still is held in somewhat different forms. 

1 F. B. Jevons, Introduction to the History of Religion. 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


I98 


It was a quite common belief of the savage races that the 
souls of those who have died enter the bodies of infants when 
Among savage the latter are born. The bodies of animals, also, 
mces. have been supposed to furnish homes for the souls 

of some who have departed this life. This appears to have 
been true at times, and in places, in which the idea of a direct 
alliance between men and animals was not especially prominent. 


In many cases the larger animals, birds, or fishes, were thought 
to be animated by human souls. Souls of men who were brave 
and good were supposed to find homes in the bodies of the 
better classes of animals than the souls of the cowardly and 
evil could enter. Among some tribes the idea prevailed that 
this process of transmigration must go on until the soul was 
qualified to go to the happy land to which the savage looked 
forward as the eternal home of the good. 

The members of the sacred order of priests and teachers, 
known as the Druids, who governed the ancient Celtic people 
Belief of the in Gaul, the British islands, parts of Germany, and 

Braids. j n neighboring regions, were firm believers in the 

doctrine of the transmigration of the soul. They regarded the 
process as necessary for the development of power and the per¬ 
fection of character. It was also required in order that the good 
might be properly rewarded and the wicked be suitably pun¬ 
ished. They also held that there is an ascending scale of life 
from the very lowest forms of existence to the highest point 
which it is possible for finite beings to reach. When in the 
course of the ascent the human plane is reached the future 
condition of the individual is placed in his own power. His 
conduct in this state of being will determine his state and 
place after death. If his life is pure he will when he dies enter a 
better home than any which the earth can supply. His powers 
will be greatly increased, and his means of enjoyment will be 
multiplied. If he proves unworthy of this high estate he will 
be obliged to return to a lower form of life, though ample oppor¬ 
tunity to rise again will be given. But if he maintains his integ¬ 
rity he will continue to rise in the scale of being until he reaches 
perfection and, so far as he is concerned, all possibility of evil 
comes to an end. 

If, while in the human form, the soul chooses evil instead of 
good, the birth which will follow death will be in the line of 


THE SPIRITUAL MAN 


199 


degradation. The depth to which the soul will fall will be deter¬ 
mined by the character of its sin, and the persistence with which 
that sin has been committed. It may be obliged to take the 
form of one of the meanest of all the animals that crawl upon 
the earth, and in this vile condition endure the penalty of its 
evil deeds. From this state it will rise, by degrees, to the human 
scale, and will then be given another probation. This, like 
the former time of trial, may be misimproved. If so, the soul 
must be punished by being compelled to pass through another 
degraded form of existence. This may be repeated indefinitely, 
but the soul will never be debarred from another trial, and, 
though the processes of purification and development may re¬ 
quire countless ages for their completion, they will surely end in 
a glorious triumph of the good, and the admission of the spot¬ 
less soul to a home in which its happiness will be perfect and 
eternal. 

The doctrine of the transmigration of the soul was held in 
Egypt some four thousand years ago, and has been regarded as 
a prominent feature of the religious system of the T he Egyptian 
people of that historic land. It is difficult, however, theo,,y ’ 
to determine just the form in which the idea was entertained, 
as different writers have varied greatly in their interpretations. 
Doubtless some were either misled, or were not fully informed 
regarding the subject upon which they attempted to enlighten 
others. It is also certain that in process of time the belief under¬ 
went a change, or else it was held in different forms, by different 
classes of people, at the same period. 

The account of Herodotus, which until recently has been 
generally accepted, was to the effect that the Egyptians were 
the first people who believed the soul to be immortal. They 
supposed that when a human being died the soul passed into the 
body of some animal that was then being born. At the death 
of this animal the soul passed into the body of another, and so 
continued to inhabit the bodies of creatures which live upon the 
earth, in the air, or in the sea. After this migration, which con¬ 
tinues during a period of about three thousand years, the soul 
was given another probation in the human form. Certain Greek 
writers, it was claimed, had put forth this doctrine as their own, 
but it was really of Egyptian origin. 

Some of the modern scholars who have made a careful investi- 


200 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


gation of the subject believe that the ancient historian was mis¬ 
taken as to the true character of the Egyptian doctrine. They 
hold that, in some very important points, it is radically different 
from the form in which it was held by the Greeks. According 
to their view the Egyptians did not regard transmigration as a 
punishment for sin. Neither did they consider it as reserved, as 
has often been stated or implied, for those who were not justified 
in the great trial of the soul by Osiris, the mighty god before 
whom all the dead were brought for judgment. On the con¬ 
trary, it was a privilege of the good. 

According to this view, the power of transformation was given 
to the soul as a means of protection against its enemies, and 
apparently, also, as a means of promoting its happiness. In the 
“ Book of the Dead,” the great funeral ritual of the Egyptian 
form of religion, is a chapter in which full instructions are given 
for making various transformations which may seem to be desira¬ 
ble. It was supposed that by following these instructions the 
soul could, at any time, appear in the form of a bird, a crocodile, 
a lotus flower, or even in that of a god. Another chapter of this 
strange book tells how the shades may attain perfection, and 
how they can obtain permission “ to walk in the Great Room, 
to go out by day in shape that will please them,” and do many 
other things which would tend to increase the pleasure of exist¬ 
ence in the new conditions into which it had been brought upon 
its separation from the body by death. 

It is not unlikely that the various discrepancies which have 
appeared in the statements of different writers upon this subject 
are due to the probable fact that during the long period of their 
history the views of the Egyptians underwent a considerable 
degree of modification. Doubtless what was an accurate state¬ 
ment of their views at one time was very far from correct at a 
much later period. It is also probable that among the people 
themselves there was, at times, a wide difference of opinion. 
The views of the educated classes would naturally change more 
readily than those of the people of less intelligence. The minds 
of the former class would be more open to the reception of new 
ideas than would those of the latter. So, while advanced views 
gained considerable headway, there were many of the common 
people who clung with great tenacity to the belief of an earlier 
day. 


THE SPIRITUAL MAN 


201 


The doctrine of the transmigration of the soul appeared in 
the Hindu philosophy at an early period, and was very favorably 
received. In a comparatively short time it seems Amongthe 
to have obtained quite general acceptance. After HinduSt 
its introduction it passed through various changes, which in¬ 
volved a considerable degree of modification, before it reached 
its full development in a permanent system of philosophy. In 
its completed form it was very different from that in which it 
was held by the Egyptians, and the view of the future of the 
soul which it presented was far more terrible. 

Not less than three thousand years ago the idea of transmi¬ 
gration had become a doctrine of pure and absolute retribution. 
Though to a certain extent virtue was regarded as meritorious, 
and was supposed to bring something in the nature of a reward, 
it could not insure permanent happiness. It would obtain for 
the new life better conditions than those which would otherwise 
have been granted. It might even secure for the soul a tem¬ 
porary abode in one of the heavens. If the latter were granted, 
the length of time which the soul could spend in the happy 
home depended entirely upon the degree of its merit. This 
might be so small as to make the period very brief. Or, if the 
life had been highly exemplary, several long periods of happi¬ 
ness might be granted in succession. But all the merit that 
had been accumulated would, sooner or later, become exhausted, 
and the soul would then be obliged, in some form, to return to 
earth and again go through the process of testing its character 
in order to determine the conditions under which its next birth 
should occur. 

The possibility of entrance upon a state of happiness at death 
depended entirely upon an excess of good deeds over the evil 
deeds of the present life. If the evil deeds were in excess, 
the soul, at death, either entered a hell instead of a heaven, or 
was born, in the form of a man or an animal, in some wretched 
condition on the earth. As the period of happiness for the 
good was measured by the degree of merit which the soul had 
obtained, so the length of time that must be spent in misery by 
the wicked depended upon the degree of guilt for which expia¬ 
tion was required. In some cases a single evil birth would 
suffice. In others, countless numbers would be needed. Re¬ 
pentance for wrongdoing was of no avail, and reformation 
13 * 


202 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


counted for nothing under the reign of this inexorable law. 
Whatever of evil was done by an individual must be atoned for, 
either at once or after a period of happiness, during which time 
he received the reward which was due him for good works 
which had been performed in the course of the same earthly 
life. There was no possible escape from the natural conse¬ 
quences of wrongdoing. The full measure of suffering was 
exacted for each and every sin. 

So the “ endless chain of existence ” went on. Sometimes 
the soul was in heaven; at others it abode in hell. Sometimes 
it lived as a god. More frequently it appeared in the human 
form. It often occupied the body of a dog, or a snake, or dwelt 
in an insect. It might even be compelled to exist for a time in 
an apparently inanimate object. Death would release it from 
the particular state in which it chanced at the time to be, but 
only that it might continue to exist in a state in which tempta¬ 
tion would be certain and suffering would be extremely prob¬ 
able. This unceasing round of life and death, with all the 
dangers and sufferings which it involved, pressed with fearful 
weight upon the soul. The view which the future presented to 
the Hindu mind must have been appalling beyond description. 

With such a view of life it is not strange that, far above all 
other things, believers in this form of the doctrine of the trans¬ 
migration of the soul desired to find some way of bringing their 
personal existence to a close. Gradually the idea of the absorp¬ 
tion of the human soul into the very being of the Deity was 
developed. Union with Brahma came to be regarded as the 
one ; and the only, hope of salvation. This was to be secured 
by knowledge which would raise the one who attained it to the 
high position of a god, and would, for him, at once and forever 
close the processes of birth and death. The thing to be learned 
was that human individuality is not real, but only apparent. 
With the exception of Brahma, the one soul, nothing really 
exists. The Deity itself is knowledge, and whoever obtains 
true knowledge thereby becomes a part of, or loses himself in, 
“ the absolute God.” This knowledge, however, was exceed¬ 
ingly difficult to acquire, and only a favored few could hope to 
secure it. For the great masses of the people there was no pos¬ 
sible means of escape from the woes of an endless series of 
births and deaths. 


THE SPIRITUAL MAN 


203 

For several centuries before the birth of Christ, the idea of 
the transmigration of the soul was taught by various Greek 
philosophers, and was accepted by quite a propor- 
tion of the people who formed the more intelligent 
classes of the population. Indeed, it was said that at one period 
all Greeks who held that the soul was immortal were also be¬ 
lievers in the doctrine of its transmigration. To some extent 
the idea was accepted by the Romans, but they did not give it 
as cordial a reception as had been accorded to it in Greece. 

It has been a matter of common belief that the doctrine of 
transmigration as taught by Pythagoras was not original with 
that great philosopher, but was derived from the Egyptians. 
Probably this idea is only partly correct. It is certain that the 
doctrine as taught by himself, and as elaborated by some of his 
disciples, bears a close resemblance to the form in which, for a 
long time, it prevailed in Egypt. But it also has a sufficient 
number of variations to prove that it could not have been an 
exact copy. 

According to the theory of Pythagoras, the soul came from 
the sky, and would eventually return to the place of its birth. 
On account of its wrongdoing in its earthly life it was doomed 
to be born again and again into the world. The form in which 
it would appear at any given birth was determined by the quality 
of the character which it had previously acquired. The cycle of 
being extended over a period of thirty thousand years. When 
this was closed, the last life of the series being in a human body, 
the soul was obliged to appear before Persephone, the Queen of 
the Dead, in order to be judged. After this ordeal was passed, 
the soul was permitted to enter a state of blessedness. 

It appears that some souls, by their purity and goodness while 
in the body, avoided the perils and sufferings which were inci¬ 
dent to, and inseparable from, transmigration, and at death were 
at once admitted to the home in the sky. But the great major¬ 
ity were not sufficiently scrupulous in regard to their conduct 
while upon earth to enable them to escape punishment and 
make it possible for them to enter the higher state of existence 
without first submitting to a process of purification and dis¬ 
cipline. 

Even when admission to the place of the blessed was secured 
there was no assurance that it would be the permanent home of 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


204 

the soul. Probation was not yet ended. The soul was still free 
to choose good or evil. If it sought its pleasures in spiritual 
things all would be well. But if it allowed its attention to be 
diverted to material affairs, it was obliged to return to the earth 
and go through another course of training. The evil soul might 
be reborn as a depraved or ignorant man, or might take the 
form of an animal. In the latter case, the class of the animal, 
whether in the higher or the lower scale of being, would be 
determined by the degree of guilt which the soul had previously 
incurred. For all the sin that had been committed, punishment 
was inevitable. There was no forgiveness, and no part of the 
penalty was ever remitted. Yet, while it was obliged to reap as 
it had sown, the harvest time of the past would come to an end, 
and it would still be possible for the soul to develop a character 
of sufficient strength and purity to enable it to escape from the 
weary round of the earthly existence, and enter an enduring 
state of rest and peace. 

Among the Jews the doctrine of the transmigration of the 
soul did not assume a definite form until a comparatively late 
ne belief of the period in their history. Glimpses of it appear much 
jews. earlier, but it did not become an important article of 

belief until the time of the captivity in Babylon. There are but 
few passages in the Old Testament which can be quoted in its 
support, and some of these are not universally accepted as en¬ 
titled to the interpretation which believers in this doctrine have 
placed upon them. It is certain that the belief was not com¬ 
mon during the period covered by these writings. In the New 
Testament but very little support for the doctrine can be found, 
and, like the doubtful references in the Old Testament, most of 
the statements which are quoted in its defense can be readily 
explained without the slightest reference to this theory. But in 
the Talmud, and in various other Jewish writings of the same 
period, it is very prominent. 

The form in which this doctrine was held by most of the Jews 
who accepted it was very different from that in which it had 
been adopted by other races. While it was far from being a 
doctrine of comfort, or of hope, it was free from the coarser and 
more repulsive features by which it had elsewhere been marked. 
Among the Jews it was generally believed that the rebirth would 
always be in a human form. Upon other points, however, there 


THE SPIRITUAL MAN 


205 

were various opinions. Some held that in whatever body a 
soul found a home, it would remain therein until a separation 
was effected by death. Others believed that the soul had power 
to go from one body to another without the intervention of 
death. There was also an opinion that more than one soul 
could occupy a single body at one and the same time. The evil 
spirits with which many people were said to be “ possessed,” and 
from some of whom they were cast out by Christ, were believed 
to be the souls of people who were wicked while living in their 
own bodies on earth, and which for some unknown reason were 
permitted to return to this world and continue their sinful 
careers. 

Regarding the period during which the process of transmigra¬ 
tion would be continued, the Jewish belief was very different 
from that of the Hindus. The Jews believed that there would 
be, for members of their own race at least, a final and universal 
deliverance from the weary round of existence. With the ad¬ 
vent of the Messiah, which was anxiously looked for, and the 
coming forth from their graves of the bodies of the dead, a new 
order of things would be instituted, and a permanent home for 
the soul would be established. 

Although what is now known as the Theosophical movement 
is of quite recent origin, the parent society having been organ¬ 
ized in the year 1875, the belief of its adherents The neosopmcai 
regarding the transmigration of the soul is the same doctrine ‘ 
in form as the doctrine which was taught by Buddha, and which 
has been held by the vast number of his followers down to the 
present time. It should, perhaps, be said in this connection, 
that while Theosophy claims to cover a much broader field than 
that which is occupied by Buddhism, and to include what is 
thought to be good in other forms of philosophy and religion, it 
“ upholds most of the Buddhistic tenets,” and its general belief 
is practically the same as “ the real Buddhist creed.” 1 There is 
no reason to doubt the accuracy of this statement. But the 
claim which is made by the writer just quoted, that the Theo¬ 
sophical system “ is not only the Buddhist creed, but is also the 
same as the real Christian creed, and no more one than the 
other, and no more either than it is Chaldean or Egyptian,” 
cannot be conceded by those who hold the vital doctrines of the 

1 Claude Falls Wright, Modern Theosophy. 


206 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


Christian faith. While many precepts, which inculcate the 
purest morality, are common to both, there are many differences 
between the doctrines of Buddhism and those of Christianity, 
which are extreme and irreconcilable. 

There has been a widely prevalent belief that the teachings 
of Buddha were of a much higher character than the doctrines 
The teachings of of Brahma, which they were designed to supplant. 
suddha. j n some respects this was true. By a gradual en¬ 

croachment upon the rights of the people, the Brahmanic priest¬ 
hood became one of the most powerful and despotic organiza¬ 
tions which the world has ever known. Its members claimed to 
be sacred beings. They built up a vast ceremonial, and made 
the distinctions of caste intolerable. The masses of the people 
had no rights which they could maintain in this life, and the 
future did not offer them the slightest ray of hope. Deliver¬ 
ance from the evils of existence could come only through know¬ 
ledge, and this, in a sufficient degree, only a very few could by 
any possibility attain. From others sacrifices were required. 
The merits due for these offerings were determined by the 
priests, as were also the demerits which were incurred by 
neglect of suitable services of this description. Merit would in¬ 
sure a period of happiness after death, and demerit would, with 
an equal degree of certainty, bring a period of misery, but, 
whether it were good or ill, the condition then entered upon 
would not be permanent. After a period, the length of which 
would be determined by the quality of the character which had 
been formed while it was in the world, the soul would be born, 
in some visible form, and would again be exposed to the temp¬ 
tations and sufferings of an earthly life. 

The historic character known as the founder of the Buddhist 
faith is said to have been born six hundred and twenty-three 
years before the Christian era. 1 Under the name of Gotamo he 
became a disciple of noted Brahmans, but, finding that their 
teachings could not enable one to secure deliverance from the 
evils of life, he went into seclusion, conquered all earthly desires, 
and became the Buddha, or, as this term implies, “ The En¬ 
lightened One.” He retained various doctrines of the Brah¬ 
mans, but abolished the priesthood, dispensed entirely with the 
ceremonies and sacrifices which the priests had enjoined, over- 

1 Subhadra Bhikshu, A Buddhist Catechism. 


THE SPIRITUAL MAN 


207 

threw the whole system of caste, and proclaimed the universal 
brotherhood of man. Instead of to the few, as the Brahmans 
had done, he offered deliverance to all human beings. 

Still more radical changes of doctrine have grown out of the 
ideas which were introduced by this remarkable teacher. In all 
the varying forms in which the doctrine of trans¬ 
migration had been held, a common belief in the c,mnges of belief ' 
continued existence of the individual soul had been maintained. 
But, though efforts have been made to prove the contrary, some 
of the most learned students of the Oriental faiths assert that 
Buddha denied the existence of either the soul or of God. 
Among the adherents to his system there are many who fully 
admit the truth of this assertion, but many others claim that the 
statement should be somewhat qualified. 

Upon the first of these points the Buddhist Catechism, from 
which quotations have already been made, says that “ The belief 
in an ‘ immortal soul,’ — that is, an undivided, eternal, and inde¬ 
structible essence, which has only taken its abode temporarily in 
the body, Buddhism considers an error, resting upon ignorance 
of the true nature of being and existence.” Regarding the 
second point, the same authority asserts that “ the Buddhists 
reject altogether the belief in a personal God.” If such views 
were held by Buddha, it is plain that, unless he had very dif¬ 
ferent ideas of the nature of the soul from those which are 
commonly received, he could not have taught the doctrine of 
its transmigration. However that may be, there can be no 
doubt that millions of his professed followers have held it as one 
of the leading articles of their faith. 

For the soul of man Buddha substituted what is now desig¬ 
nated by the Sanskrit term, w karma,” or the “ law of adjustment,” 
which insures reward for all that is good, and punishment for 
all that is evil, in character and action. It is sometimes de¬ 
scribed as the sum of all the thoughts and deeds of the earthly 
life. It is not a person, like God, who leads and guides the 
individual, but “ an inner, innate power in the heart of every 
living being,” from the operation of which escape is utterly 
impossible. In some of its aspects it appears to be allied to 
what is known as Providence. In others it closely resembles 
the doctrine of fatality. It has determined what each individual 
now is, and will determine, beyond all possibility of doubt or 


208 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


change, the place and form of the existence which will follow 
death. Combined with tanha, which is the desire, or will, to 
live, it compels a continuance of the process of transmigration. 
The exact nature of its action is, as Oriental philosophers con¬ 
cede, extremely difficult to explain satisfactorily to people of the 
Western world, whose minds are so engrossed in the practical 
affairs of life that they give but little time to the study of 
mystical doctrines. 

If the existence of a soul is admitted, as it has been by adher¬ 
ents to various other forms of the doctrine of transmigration, it 
is possible to imagine a continuance of personality during the 
numberless states and stages of existence through which the 
individual must pass. It is said that Pythagoras claimed to 
remember many events which had occurred in his previous 
stages of life in this world. As an instance of this power of 
recollection, it is asserted that in the temple of Juno he once 
pointed out a shield which, while in another body and bearing 
a different name, he had carried at the siege of Troy. Various 
other noted persons have made equally remarkable claims. 

Stupendous as they appear to those who do not accept the 
doctrine of transmigration, the claims which have just been 
noted are small when compared with those of the Buddhists, 
who assert that though there is no “ eternal and indestructible 
essence ” which can be called the soul, yet the real personality 
is transmitted from one being to his successor. Though the 
consciousness may change, we are assured that “ it is, neverthe¬ 
less, the same individual nature which commits the good or evil 
deeds in one birth and enjoys the fruits of its deeds in the new 
birth.” 1 

The form of continued existence thus described seems shadowy 
and unreal. But, faint and feeble as it was, Buddha regarded it 
*., as the greatest of evils. His highest aim and most 

earnest effort was to find some method by which it 
could be extinguished. The thing to be most desired was the 
utter eradication of personality, the absolute and eternal obliter¬ 
ation of all idea of a separate and individual life. The means of 
securing this entire effacement of personal existence he pro¬ 
fessed to find in a knowledge of, and obedience to, the laws of 
the universe; the cessation of all activity; and the extinction of 

1 Subhadra Bhikshu, A Buddhist Catechism . 


STONEHENGE. MONUMENT OR TEMPLE OF THE DRUIDS. 

















































I I I 98 , • 











THE SPIRITUAL MAN 


209 


all desire to live. When these conditions were complied with, 
Nirvana, the eternal rest, would be attained. Then, for the one 
who had reached this state, the chain of lives would be broken, 
never to be formed again. 

This, however, has not been the uniform interpretation of the 
teachings of Buddha. Many of his followers have held that 
entrance into the state of Nirvana — for the word represents a 
condition, and not a locality — involved only a partial destruc¬ 
tion of the idea of personality. They have asserted that it was 
not, as it certainly appears to be, equivalent to annihilation. In 
their explanation of the doctrine it is claimed that this state, in 
which the mind of the individual is transfused “ into the univer¬ 
sal soul essence,” “ can be reached while the physical body is 
alive,” and that, in the case last named, after having attained this 
wonderful condition, the soul can return to the ordinary life of 
this world. 1 This would indicate that after the state of supreme 
happiness is attained some degree of individuality still remains. 

While the teachers of Buddhism vary greatly as to the details 
of their doctrine, all are agreed that the merging of the human 
existence in the being of the One Soul of the universe is 
supremely desirable. This condition, when attained by those 
who have been completely separated from their bodies by death, 
would seem, to one not versed in the mysteries of Oriental 
philosophy, to be of limitless duration. But the great teachers 
of the esoteric doctrine assert that it is not everlasting. The 
atom representing the personality will again appear, but its state 
of being will be nobler and higher than it had previously enjoyed. 
The new cycle of its activity will be upon an elevated plane, and 
its powers will be wonderfully increased. Whatever else may 
be thought of this part of the system, there is not likely to be a 
disposition, on the part of any reader, to question the truth of 
the statement of the founder of the Theosophical Society, that, 
“ in its present stage of development,” the human mind “ can 
scarcely reach this plane of thought.” 2 

Some of the causes which led savage races to form the idea of 
the transmigration of the soul have been stated. Per- Foundations of the 
haps a few of the grounds upon which it appeals to bellef - 
people of higher intellectual powers should also be noted. 

1 Claude Falls Wright, Modern Theosophy . 

2 H. P. Blavatsky, The Secret Doctrine . 

14 


210 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


The savage not only attempted to form an alliance with cer¬ 
tain classes of animals, but he was also strongly impressed by 
Resemblance in the lines of resemblance, in action and sometimes in 
appearance. appearance, between animals and men, which such 

close observers of the natural -world could not fail to notice. 
Doubtless these resemblances led him to value the totem more 
highly than he otherwise would have done, and strengthened 
the belief that the souls of his departed relatives and friends had 
not passed out of existence, but had found homes which were 
not far from his own. 

As people became more intelligent the fact of resemblance in 
the appearance of certain animals and men did not receive as 
much attention as it had done at an earlier period in their his¬ 
tory, though it was not wholly overlooked. There was a rapidly 
growing opinion that reincarnation in the form of an animal 
involved a degradation of the soul. After a time the idea 
became prevalent that only the souls of those who had been 
great sinners would be reborn in the form of any of the meaner 
animals, while a good soul was seldom, or never, condemned to 
exist in any lower form than that of humanity. 

Another reason why this belief was accepted in the period 
before a clear revelation regarding the future had been given is 
A continuation of to be found in the fact that it furnished a basis for 
Ufe ' the doctrine, which seems to be natural to the human 

race, of an existence after death. The idea of a purely spiritual 
existence was not developed until a later day. To the great 
majority of the- people of early times life without some bodily 
form was supposed to be impossible. They believed that if the 
soul continued to exist after death it must have some sort of a 
material body. For people holding this belief it was easy to 
imagine that when the soul left one body it would enter another, 
and that, by various changes of this kind, the individual might 
continue to remain in the world for an indefinite time. 

There were numerous other ideas which led in the same direc¬ 
tion. But by far the broadest foundation which any of them 
A remedy for un- offered for the doctrine of transmigration was the 
equal conditions, explanation which it was supposed to furnish for the 
apparent injustice which prevails in the world. The inequali¬ 
ties of the conditions under which men live are known to every 
one. They form one of the darkest problems of human experi- 


THE SPIRITUAL MAN 


21 I 


ence. One man inherits great wealth and another is born in 
the direst poverty. So far as man can see, the former is no 
more deserving than the latter. One man has a vigorous body, 
a clear mind, and the best of opportunities for securing success; 
while another, whose moral character is equally good, is heavily 
handicapped by a weak constitution, bodily deformity, or an in¬ 
tellect of less than ordinary power, or he is so completely hedged 
in by circumstances over which he can have no control, that 
failure to accomplish anything of importance is inevitable. 

In what are commonly termed the “ favors of fortune ” there 
is an equal want of adjustment to what seem to be the demands 
of justice. One man works faithfully, intelligently, and persist¬ 
ently, yet success eludes his grasp. Another, who puts forth 
less effort, and uses less care, seems to stumble upon the prize 
which his far more deserving competitor has missed. Accidents, 
sicknesses, and disasters of various kinds come frequently to 
some men, while to others, who are not better men and in many 
cases are very much worse, they are comparatively unknown. 

Still more difficult to reconcile with justice are the multitudes 
of cases in which virtue is defeated and vice is triumphant. The 
history of the race is very largely a record of the re- Adjustment of 
suits of conflict between the forces of good and the moralmon ^- 
powers of evil, and that record has been such as almost to justify 
a literal construction of the words of the poet, — 

“ Truth forever on the scaffold, Wrong forever on the throne.” 

It is not infrequently the case that calamities come to nations, 
to communities, and to individuals, without the slightest refer¬ 
ence to the character of the sufferers. The good are afflicted 
as severely as are the evil, and, so far as outward things are con¬ 
cerned, all moral distinctions seem to be obliterated. The man 
who serves God fares as badly as does the one who denies the 
existence of a Supreme Being. Sometimes the balance even 
appears to turn in favor of the wicked, and the good seem to be 
not only overwhelmed with the troubles which have come upon 
them, but also to be deserted by the God in whom they had put 
their trust. 

It is true that the condition which has been described is not 
universal. The good very often prevails over the evil. Per¬ 
haps it can be said that the general tendency of events is in the 


212 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


direction of improvement. The world has not been deserted by 
its Maker, and there is no occasion to fear that it will escape 
from His control. Nevertheless, it cannot be denied that evils 
of enormous magnitude are permitted to exist. As long as the 
existing order of things continues there will be inequalities in 
the conditions under which men live and toil, which can neither 
be justified nor explained by reference to anything connected 
with the present world. Without doubt there is a good, and an 
entirely sufficient, reason for this apparent unfairness, but at pre¬ 
sent it is involved in the deepest mystery. In order that we may 
obtain a view that will give anything approaching a justification 
for the moral derangement of the universe, and the innumerable 
and gigantic evils which proceed therefrom, we must either place 
implicit faith in the inspired declaration that God is love or else 
wait until we have a wider horizon than the brief term of natural 
life upon the earth affords. 

It is at this point that the theory of the transmigration of the 
soul has its principal strength. It furnishes a plausible, though 
a plausible inadequate, explanation of the discordant state of the 
explanation. universe. The sufferings and misfortunes of good 
men, and the happiness and prosperity of wicked men, are said 
to be accounted for by this doctrine. When the righteous man 
is overwhelmed with evils it is assumed that he is reaping as he 
has sown in a previous life upon the earth. It is possible, too, 
that in addition to the expiation of past sins, he is laying up 
a store of merits the reward for which he will receive in some 
future state of existence. Sooner or later, according to this phi¬ 
losophy, “ guilt and suffering, merit and happiness, must exactly 
balance one another.” Therefore if we can find no good reason 
why a man who is a prey of misfortune should be obliged to 
endure the evils to which he is subjected, we must refer the 
cause to a course of wrongdoing in an earlier life. 

On the other hand, when a wicked man is happy and pro¬ 
sperous, he is not to be regarded as a favorite of fortune, or as 
receiving a proper reward for his present works. He is simply 
enjoying the good which he had merited by a pure life at some 
previous time. He is not to be envied, for his happiness will 
pass away. Either during his present life, or in some succeed¬ 
ing one, he will be compelled to suffer the full penalty of all the 
evil deeds which he performs. As everything that is good will 


THE SPIRITUAL MAN 


213 


receive its full measure of reward, so every thought and act of 
an evil nature must be punished to the uttermost limit of its 
desert. 

Among the civilized peoples of Europe and America the doc¬ 
trine of the transmigration of the soul has not been generally 
received. The features which cause it to appeal Not accepted in 
forcibly to the Oriental mind are not particularly theWesternu)0rld • 
attractive to the Western intellect. A very few of our philoso¬ 
phers have accepted the idea, and some have worked it out as a 
metaphysical theory. It has also found adherents in the con¬ 
verts to Theosophy, and their number is said to be constantly 
increasing. But there is no probability that it will become a 
popular doctrine. The explanation which it offers is not at all 
adequate. It traces suffering to sin, it is true, but it throws no 
light whatever upon the almost infinitely greater mystery of the 
origin of sin itself. It asserts the justice of the infliction of the 
penalty when man does wrong, but it does not show why he has 
been permitted to enter evil courses. 

The doctrine deals with theories, and suppositions, and ana¬ 
logies. It belongs in the realm of psychology. Some of its 
claims are plausible, but in their development they prove super¬ 
ficial. They do not afford the only, or the most satisfactory, 
explanation of the mysteries which they attempt to reveal. 
When anything that can properly be called evidence of the 
truth of the theory is sought it cannot be found. It does not 
stand the test of science. “ There are no facts to sustain such a 
doctrine.” 1 

Various Theosophical writers class Christianity with Brah¬ 
manism and Buddhism, and assert that these, in common with 
various other ancient systems of religion and philo- opposed to the doc. 
sophy, are all parts of the one “secret doctrine” in °f Christ - 
which the truth is contained. They claim that both Jesus 
Christ and Gotamo Buddha were members of a great brother¬ 
hood, and were “ sent to teach the masses and to raise the stand¬ 
ard of mankind.” 2 It is also said that Christ probably “ was a 
pupil of the Buddhist monks from His twelfth to His thirtieth 
year,” and that, during this period, under their guidance He 
“ attained the degree of Araha.” In His preaching, it is said, 

1 T. J. Hudson, A Scientific Demonstration of the Future Life. 

2 Claude Falls Wright, Modern Theosophy . 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


214 

He proclaimed the truth, but his doctrine was “ mutilated and 
confused with errors from the Book of Laws of the Jews.” 1 

These are most astonishing claims. They are not at all sus¬ 
tained by revelation and receive but very slight support from 
anything which can be called reliable tradition. The very few 
passages in the New Testament narratives which have been im¬ 
pressed into the service of those who claim that Christ counte¬ 
nanced the doctrine of the transmigration of the soul utterly fail 
to sustain the claim, and are easily and reasonably explained in 
other ways. 

The claim that transmigration of the soul is necessary in 
order to insure perfect justice to each and every individual is 
pure assumption. One life in this world, followed by a state of 
existence in which good will be rewarded and evil will be pun¬ 
ished, would seem to answer the purposes of justice far better 
than they can be served by a countless number of lives none of 
which are connected by memory with any preceding condition 
of moral responsibility. Even if we grant, what some assert but 
many deny, that a slight idea of individuality is retained through 
some of these various changes, we find that it is not sufficiently 
clear to enable the soul to commence any new probation with 
better prospects than it had previously been granted. When 
the soul enters another state it is simply exposed to renewed 
dangers without the slightest increase of strength for the con¬ 
flict which it must wage against opposing forces. 

Christianity teaches that man is dependent upon God. It 
Dependence upon asserts the weakness of humanity, and insists that 
God ' this fact should be recognized and that the soul 

should seek a close and permanent union with Him by whom it 
was created and is still upheld in life. Such a doctrine cannot 
exist in connection with a belief in the transmigration of the 
soul. Even in its least objectionable form the latter theory 
widely separates the soul from God. As held by many, it re¬ 
gards man as his own maker and finds in knowledge and action 
the determining forces of life. It teaches that he has no need 
of prayer. In the Buddhist Catechism the unqualified state¬ 
ment is made that “ Prayer and sacrifice in a literal sense do not 
exist in the Buddhist religion.” In the Theosophical meetings 
which I have attended I have never heard a prayer. This is in 

1 Subhadra Bhikshu, A Buddhist Catechism . 


THE SPIRITUAL MAN 


215 

marked contrast with ordinary religious services, and with the 
example and the teaching of Christ. He spent long hours alone 
in prayer, and taught His disciples to pray to their Father in 
heaven. But the Buddhist, in his philosophy, has no room and 
no need for prayer. He rejects the idea of dependence upon 
any power higher than himself. He claims a “ religion, of a free, 
noble, self-confiding, human kind, that desires no divine grace, 
and that fears no divine anger, and only sees the judge of its 
actions in its own heart, in its own better understanding.” 1 

Then, too, the doctrine of the transmigration of the soul has 
for one of its leading principles the idea that existence is an evil, 
to escape from which man should bend all of his The va , ue 0 f 
energies. Union with Brahma, with Buddha, with existence - 
the One Soul, with the Over-Soul, or with some other spiritual 
existence which was regarded as the Supreme Being of the uni¬ 
verse, was the one object which the believers in this doctrine 
passionately desired to attain. The absorption of the personal¬ 
ity into the Divine nature, which would practically blot out all 
individual consciousness, was considered infinite gain. 

Christ placed a vastly different estimate upon the value of 
personal existence. He declared that the purpose of His com¬ 
ing was that men might not merely have life, but that they might 
“have it abundantly.” He was “the bread of life,” “the living 
bread which came down out of heaven.” He lived and toiled, 
and suffered and died, in order that a glorious and an endless 
life might be secured by men. He offered life as the one mag¬ 
nificent prize for the attainment of which every possible effort 
should be made. But in all of His teachings that have come 
down to the present day there is no intimation that the state of 
blessedness of which He told was to be reached by passing 
through a succession of births and deaths, at different periods, 
and in varying forms, in this world. 

There is, too, an irreconcilable difference between the teach¬ 
ings of Christ and the doctrine of the transmigration of the soul, 
in respect to an atonement for wrongdoing on the 
part of man. One of the fundamental doctrines of 
Christianity is the forgiveness of sins. If this is eliminated the 
whole system of the Christian religion falls into ruin. But this 
doctrine is utterly and absolutely rejected by Buddhism and its 

1 Subhadra Bhikshu, A Buddhist Catechism . 


2l6 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


allied faiths. According to the principles of their philosophy, 
all causes produce their legitimate effects. If a man does wrong, 
either through design or through ignorance, he must suffer the 
punishment which that particular wrong deserves. He is power¬ 
less in the grasp of a law the penalties of which no power in the 
universe can either avert or mitigate. The relentless mills of 
retribution will crush and grind him in their terrible wheels. 
“ No God or saint can protect a man from the consequences of 
his evil deeds. Every man must work his own salvation.” All 
that Buddha, or any one else has done, or can do, is to show 
how each individual “ can become his own savior .” 1 Every man 
must tread the winepress for himself, and alone. No prayers, 
no repentance, no reformation, will aid him in the least. No 
power will discriminate between sins that were due to weakness, 
or to want of understanding, and those which proceeded from 
vile and malignant motives. It is a pitiless system; a doctrine 
of despair. 

In contrast with this belief, the religion of Christ is as the 
sunlight of noonday when compared with the darkness of mid- 
The systems night. The man who is weighed down by sin finds 
compared. j n Theosophy, and other systems of a similar nature, 
the command to save himself. But in the Christian religion he 
finds that One who is able and willing to save him has come into 
the world. Pardon and peace are freely offered through Christ. 
The name of this mighty One was to be called Jesus because 
He should “save His people from their sins.” He did not come 
to inflict punishment, or to judge without mercy. His mission 
was “ to seek and to save that which was lost.” His life and 
death were manifestations of the wonderful love of God, and 
through the great atonement which He has made man may 
obtain forgiveness for the sins of the past and help to escape 
from the power and dominion of sin in the future. 

The doctrine of the transmigration of the soul cannot be 
united with, or used as a supplement to, the system of Chris¬ 
tianity. The principles of the one are radically dif- 
umon impossible. £ erent £ rom t j ie teac hj n g S 0 f other. Though not 

appealing to the highest motives, the Eastern philosophy is not 
devoid of merit. In so far as it insists that it is best, for the 
promotion of his personal interest, for man to live uprightly, it 

1 Subhadra Bhikshu, A Buddhist Catechism. 


THE SPIRITUAL MAN 


217 

teaches well. But even where it does not go to the length of 
denying the existence of a God, and of an enduring, conscious 
personality, it presents a hopeless view of the future. Its doc¬ 
trine concerning the soul, its insistence upon the evils of exist¬ 
ence, and its rejection of the idea of a reconciliation between 
God and the sinner, make it a dismal failure as a religion for 
our suffering humanity. What it has done for the countries in 
which it has prevailed for thousands of years may be seen by 
the condition of the people in those countries to-day. 

Where this philosophy fails, Christianity triumphs. It recog¬ 
nizes the soul as of infinite value. It presents life in this world 
as an opportunity for the grandest achievement, and superiority of 
offers a refuge from the threatenings of the violated Chri 8 tianlt y- 
moral law, in the love of God as exhibited in Jesus Christ. It 
has ennobled humanity by teaching every man, however lowly 
his station in life, that God is his Father and gives him a Father’s 
love. It has given a mighty uplift to all the nations which have 
come under its power. By their fruits the merits of these con¬ 
flicting systems must be judged. 


2 


f i jzzzi ~ mx 

11 

K?>m 

V-f •> : . : : y} \V'\ 

.*••.**•**• • ’ * • *.v« 



$r 


T 

■ dSj 

V—1 


x\v\ 

■t 1 


. IS 

V- 1 

e= 




s 

«T4 

* 

33) 

*< 

J 

X 

>4 

/ - 

<TI 



<3&. 

r • 

J -A 

il 

tlj 

A 

CT3 

m 

V?R7&- 

■> 


o 

1 

+> 

*T 

l>:j 1 

kfii 

CT3 

A 

"X > 

ft 


fi 

rd 

Vj 

C=2 



^hb»t> 


> 


T 





V- V. •> 


. * ' ,* * *. • *M* ♦ ’ . i 


"52 Ti ?i if $a 3 9 T3 Tf ra JJT 


2 J Tr 7 t 




OSIRIS PRESIDING AT THE JUDGMENT OF THE SOUL 



















































PART IV 

ENDLESS EXISTENCE 


CHAPTER XVII 

IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL 

So far as his body is concerned man is mortal. No argument 
is needed to fortify this assertion. The truth of the statement 
is plain enough to any one and every one. Evi- 
dences ot its accuracy are all around us. It is worse 
than useless to attempt to deny, or even to modify, the conclu¬ 
sions to which they point. 

Regarding the soul, no such sweeping assertion of mortality 
can be sustained. Comparatively few are inclined to claim that 
it is mortal. The great majority hold an altogether different 
view. Among them are many who are in doubt. They hope 
that death does not end existence. A vastly larger number are 
fully convinced that there is something within them that will 
not die. 

The term “ immortality ” is employed in various ways, and is 
differently interpreted by people of differing philosophical or 
religious beliefs. As it is commonly used, the word 
carries the idea of unending existence. But some 
claim, and technically they may be correct, that this is not its 
exact meaning. They claim that “ the word does not mean 
endless existence, nor indeed existence at all, but represents sim¬ 
ply an undying condition of existence .” 1 According to this view, 
there may be existence of endless duration, and yet this eternal 
persistence of life cannot properly be called immortality. Some¬ 
thing more than a mere survival of the destruction of the body 
is required. Real immortality knows neither physical nor spirit¬ 
ual death as a permanent condition. 

1 J. L. Barlow, Endless Being. 



220 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


Rigid scientific definitions have their uses. In many cases 
they are greatly to be preferred to the popular terms which are 
so generally substituted for them. But this work is not designed 
to be technical, and it seems best, in the present chapter, to use 
the word “ immortality ” in the sense in which it is generally 
employed, not only by the masses of the people but by writers 
upon religious subjects. At a later stage a modification of the 
commonly accepted doctrine of natural, or inherent, immortality 
will be considered, but at present the term will be used, as de¬ 
fined by the leading dictionaries, to designate an existence that 
is without end. 

To the great mass of people the immortality of the soul is, in 
appearance as well as in fact, a subject of the deepest interest. 
An intensely inter- It is true that many do not investigate it thoroughly, 
esting subject anc [ some nev er appear to make it an object of 
special study. But it may be safely affirmed that every man and 
every woman of ordinary mental capacity, whether possessed of 
a Bible or without a knowledge of anything purporting to be a 
revelation from God, sometimes thinks of what may await the 
soul after it has been separated from the body by death. Immor¬ 
tality is far more frequently a subject of thought than it is a topic 
of conversation. 

Probably the principal reason why the subject receives so lit¬ 
tle close study is to be found in the widely prevalent idea that 
Much that is pretty much everything which has to do with our 

unknown. knowledge of a future state lies in an unknown and 

an impenetrable realm. Many who fully realize that the subject 
is of vital importance to each and every member of the human 
race have a feeling that knowledge regarding it, though very 
desirable, cannot be obtained. 

This view is partly true. There are many things regarding 
the future life which lie beyond our grasp, and which so far ex¬ 
ceed the limits of finite intelligence that they would be of no 
benefit to us, in our present state, if we could reach them. But 
this is no more than what we are obliged to contend with in all 
lines of study. In every branch of science there are problems 
which no one can solve. Yet men do not abandon the study 
of science because they know that there are points which they 
cannot master. On the contrary, they give the most earnest 
attention to all of the principles which they can discover, and 


ENDLESS EXISTENCE 


221 


they penetrate as far as possible into the mysteries which have 
thus far baffled all investigators. They fully realize that their 
powers and capacities are limited, but this fact does not in the 
least discourage them. 

The same course should be pursued with reference to the doc¬ 
trine of the future life. Though we cannot learn all about it, 
we should learn all that we can. Inquiry concerning Shouldbe investi . 
such a subject is desirable for its own sake as truly gated - 
as it is for the information which it may be the means of secur¬ 
ing. It turns the mind to the contemplation of a great theme 
and thus makes it nobler and stronger than it otherwise would 
become. Besides, there is reason for supposing that knowledge 
which will prove both interesting and useful will be obtained. 
The results of past investigations have not been small, and, as is 
the case with all other lines of study, the facilities for obtaining 
information are being greatly increased. 

It is a remarkable fact that among men of all ages regarding 
which we have definite knowledge there has been an almost uni¬ 
versal desire for permanent remembrance after the 
body has perished. This wish has been manifested A 9eneral de8ire ' 
in various ways. Perhaps there is no more striking example than 
that of the kings of Egypt who built the magnificent pyramids 
for their tombs. Other monarchs, and numerous private indi¬ 
viduals, of comparatively early periods, erected great and costly 
monuments to perpetuate their names and deeds. It is recorded 
that Absalom, one of the sons of the greatest king by whom 
Israel was ever ruled, “ in his lifetime had taken and reared up 
for himself the pillar, which is in the king’s dale: for he said, I 
have no son to keep my name in remembrance: and he called 
the pillar after his own name: and it is called Absalom’s monu¬ 
ment, unto this day.” 

In modern times the erection of expensive monuments by the 
living, to serve as a means for the perpetuation of their own 
names and the names of their families, is not at all uncommon. 
A far more desirable, and also more effective, method has been 
adopted by many wealthy men who have founded or endowed 
hospitals, colleges, libraries, and other public institutions which 
are of permanent and incalculable benefit to their fellow men. 
Then, too, there are various other ways, such as bestowing the 
name of the parent upon a child, in which an effort to keep 


222 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


from sinking into oblivion at death is often made. This long¬ 
ing for an existence, at least in the minds of others, after the 
life upon earth has closed, is not always selfish. Many people 
desire immortality for those who are dear to them far more ear¬ 
nestly than they do for themselves. They wish to live hereafter, 
but they could endure the thought of losing their own personal 
existence far better than they could accept a decree that their 
loved ones should perish at death. 

The idea that life continues after death has very generally 
gone beyond a mere desire or hope, and has become sufficiently 
developed to entitle it to rank as an established belief 
a common belief. a f u t ure state of existence. An eminent author¬ 
ity has asserted that “ man, if left to himself, has everywhere 
arrived at the conviction that there is something in man, or of 
man, besides the natural body .” 1 There may have been a few 
exceptions, but they are hardly noticeable among the vast mul¬ 
titude of men who have looked for some form of life beyond the 
bounds of the present world. Speaking in a general way, it 
may be said that, no matter how widely separated as to locality, 
how different in intellectual capacity or culture, how great the 
difference in their manners and customs, or how bitterly opposed 
they may have been in their ideas upon other subjects, the belief 
of mankind has been that death does not bring existence to a 
close. It is said that in several languages the expression “ he is 
dead ” is carefully avoided, and in its place something equivalent 
to “ he is taken away,” “ has gone home,” or “ has departed this 
life,” is employed. And where less care is used in the form of 
the statement, there is often a great deal of “ mental reservation ” 
concerning the meaning of the words in which the fact that a 
person has died is expressed. 

Belief in the immortality of the soul is not only common, but 
it is very largely intuitive. Millions of men have believed this 
doctrine whose education was so limited that they could present 
but very little in the way of argument in support of their 
position. There are also, to-day, millions of believers in the fact 
of a future life who could not, by any course of reasoning, make 
even a moderately strong case for the truth of the doctrine. Yet 
they are convinced, and they ought to be convinced, by the tes¬ 
timony of a witness within their own hearts and consciences, 

1 Max Muller, Anthropological Religion . 


ENDLESS EXISTENCE 


223 

that they will not perish at death. This witness is from the 
God who made the soul, with all its capacities for good or for 
ill, and its testimony cannot be shaken. 

“ O listen, man ! 

A voice within us speaks the startling word, 

‘ Man, thou shalt never die! ’ ” 

Not only has the idea of a future life been common to man¬ 
kind, but as the mental powers of the race have been developed 
and knowledge has been disseminated, this thought 
has become clearer and stronger. What at first A grow,ng bel,ef - 
was hardly more than a desire developed into a hope, vague in 
its beginnings, but gradually changing from the idea of possibil¬ 
ity to that of probability, and at length crystallizing into a settled 
belief. Advance in the knowledge of material things dispelled 
many ancient superstitions, but instead of destroying the idea of 
a future life for man, it has brought strong arguments for its 
defense. The more we learn about the works of God the more 
certain does it become that man, His greatest work, will not 
cease to exist when the brief term of his life upon the earth shall 
come to its close. 

The case of the ancient Jews furnishes an excellent illustra¬ 
tion of the growth of the idea that man does not perish, or sink 
into practical nothingness, at death. At first the light is dim. 
The earlier books of the Old Testament offer but little hope of 
a future life. Indeed, there are numerous passages in these 
writings which, if taken by themselves, seem to teach that, so 
far as man is concerned, death ends existence. In many of 
these cases, however, the context greatly modifies the meaning 
which the isolated statement appears to convey. And some of 
the texts which have been quoted to prove that the Old Testa¬ 
ment teaches that there is no existence beyond the grave are 
purely ironical. Others refer to the matter as it appears from 
an earthly standpoint at the time of death. They merely state 
that, so far as appearances are concerned, man and beast alike 
perish in the hour of dissolution. Still other passages indicate 
that without the aid of revelation man cannot find satisfactory 
proof of his immortality. If left to itself the mind will vacillate 
between hope and fear. 

With the lapse of time, and the progress of events, the light 
grows clearer. As the race increases in age the revelation from 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


224 

God becomes more direct in its references to the future state of 
man. Narratives like those of the appearance of Samuel when 
the king of Israel appealed to him for direction in the hour of 
distress, and the raising of the dead by Elijah and Elisha, can 
have no meaning apart from the belief that existence persists 
after physical death has occurred. Then, too, there are many 
passages in which the certainty of immortality seems to be taken 
for granted. It is not definitely stated as a fact, but it is assumed 
to be true. In the prophetical books the light shines still 
brighter, and the desire which the earlier people of the race had 
cherished probably came to be a strong hope, if not a settled 
belief, of the majority of the Jews long before the coming of 
Christ. 

Certain writers who are opposed to religion assert that the 
idea of immortality did not, with any degree of clearness, come 
into the world until it was taught by Christ. A very 
Eany beliefs. j ew re ligious writers, who appear to have been more 
highly gifted with zeal than they were with wisdom, have 
taken the same ground. But the evidence is strongly against 
them. It is not claimed that the men of early times held the 
idea of an existence after death as clearly and as firmly as do 
the men of the present day. It is admitted that the doctrine 
derives its main support from revelation, and that revelation 
itself was progressive. Many races were entirely without this 
source of light, and for those who received it the manifestation 
was, at the first, very slight. 

Compared with the information which people of our own time 
have, the ancients knew but little regarding the natural world, 
yet they knew something, and their knowledge, though in many 
respects deficient, w r as real and useful. No one thinks of assert¬ 
ing that this was not the case. But such an assertion would be 
as reasonable as is the claim that the early peoples, whose ideas 
of the future life were vague, were ignorant of, or disbelievers in, 
the idea of a life after death. Doubtless many of them had 
“ only twilight glimpses of immortality,” and at times their faith 
may have been very weak, but the claim that they had some sort 
and degree of belief in a future state of existence cannot be 
successfully contested. 

The fact that from prehistoric times man has cared for the 
bodies of the dead shows a hope, and a certain degree of ex- 


THE PARTHENON (TEMPLE OF MINERVA), ATHENS, GREECE. 



























































































































































ENDLESS EXISTENCE 


225 


pectation, of a future life. We are so familiar with the custom 
of burying the dead, and the service is so inter¬ 
woven with the forms of religious life, as well as Preh,storlc man ' 
with the proprieties of civilization, that people of the present 
day fail to realize how much this ceremony meant to savage 
and barbarous tribes and races. When performed by ignorant 
and degraded men the act of burial of the dead body had a pro¬ 
found significance. It must have been prompted by a feeling 
that something remained for man beyond this world. It shows, 
too, that in the lowest forms of manhood there are undeveloped 
powers and capacities for good, and fully justifies the inspiring 
sentiment of the famous French writer who exclaimed: “ What 
a future I begin to discern for this strange animal, hardly know¬ 
ing how to build for himself a hut better than a wild beast’s lair, 
and yet concerning himself to provide an eternal home for his 
dead .” 1 


The worship of ancestors, too, by many ignorant, and by some 
cultured peoples, indicates at least an expectation that the soul 
would survive the death of the body. The substitu- Worsh{pof 
tion of cremation of the dead body for burial, on the ancestors - 
part of many of the Hindus, appears to have been due to an 
increase of faith in the doctrine of immortality. It came to be 
supposed that the burning of the body would facilitate the 
entrance of the soul to the place of its abode, as it would be 
wafted to the skies by the flame of the funeral pile. There are, 
also, passages in the Vedas which show that the soul was be¬ 
lieved to live after it had departed from the body, and in one 
place it is asserted, without qualification, that “ in dying we go 
to the gods.” 


Buddha found a common belief in the idea of immortality, 
and, according to many of his interpreters, labored hard for its 
suppression. His efforts in this direction were not 

, .... ..... Denial by Buddha. 

without great results, yet many millions ot his fol¬ 
lowers believe, as millions have believed in every age since his 
day, that an existence of some kind will continue indefinitely, if 
not forever. 

The early Egyptians dreaded the destruction of existence, and, 
though they desired a happy life in some world beyond the 
earth, they seem to have been far more anxious to secure a pro- 


1 Edgar Quinet, La Creation . 


15 


226 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


The Greek and 
Roman view. 


longation of existence than they were to form pure and noble 
The Egyptian characters. To them a degraded form of life seemed 
belief. preferable to an existence that would soon come to 

an end. It is probable, however, that there was a general hope 
that at some time an enduring state of peace and happiness would 
be attained. At some periods in their history the belief that it 
would be well with those who had followed the ways of truth 
was very strong. In treating of their religion an able writer has 
said: “ In every sun which set to rise again, it saw the certain 
prophecy of the resurrection of its dead, and gazed upon the 
purple west with a look full of hope, profoundly believing that 
the crown of immortality would encircle the brow of the just .” 1 

Although the future life was regarded by the Greeks and 
Romans as shadowy and unreal, and many, in all, doubted 
whether any part of man survived the event of death, 
there was a pretty general belief that something con¬ 
tinued to exist. 

It has been said, and doubtless with truth, that the Greeks 
and Romans gave far more thought to the present life than they 
did to what might come to them at its close. To them the life 
upon earth was the real, and the desirable, existence. But it 
must be remembered that they were without the light of the 
later revelation which enables us to see that death is only the 
way by which we pass to a better life. It is not strange that, 
with their limited knowledge, their faith was weak. Even 
Socrates sometimes seemed to fear that the hereafter might 
prove a blank, but toward the last he said: “ Cheerfully do I 
depart this life, hoping for the immortal — the imperishable.” 
Other philosophers sometimes doubted, and a few even denied, 
the probability of a continuance of existence after death. 

All this does not justify adverse criticism. We see the same 
things in our own day. While the vast majority are firm believ¬ 
ers, there are multitudes of people in Christian lands 
who appear to regard the present life as the most 
desirable one which they are likely to have. They certainly give 
a great deal more of attention to the things of earth than they 
do to those which pertain to another state of existence. There 
are many, too, whose faith is weak, and some who profess to 
believe that man utterly perishes at death. The fact seems to 

1 E. De Presssns<£, The Ancient World and Christianity. 


Since Christ 
came. 


ENDLESS EXISTENCE 


227 

be that before the coming of Christ there was the same general 
hope of a future life that men cherish at the present day, 
together with what may properly be called a belief that this hope 
would be realized. But the hope was not as strong, and the 
belief was not as definite, as has been the case since He 
preached the doctrine of the immortality of the soul, and in His 
own person demonstrated the fact that death is not the destruc¬ 
tion of conscious and active life. 

While there has been a very common belief in the immor¬ 
tality of the soul, the idea represented by this term has had 
widely varying degrees of significance. In fact, it various forms of 
has been one of the most elastic terms which men immortallt y- 
have ever employed. To some classes of people it has stood 
for a certain idea, while to other classes it has brought either 
very much higher, or decidedly lower, conceptions. The word 
has often been used to represent a vague belief in some unde¬ 
fined sort of existence which was to be continued for an inde¬ 
finite period after death. In many other cases it has stood for 
the idea of a conscious, unbroken, and an actually imperishable 
existence. Between these two extremes the doctrine has been 
held in many intermediate forms. 

From early times down to the present day there have been 
many believers in the doctrine that man is immortal by virtue 
of his connection with the race. Each man is a link i mm0 rtautyofthe 
in the great chain of humanity. Each one is to live race ‘ 
through those who come after him. The desire to leave chil¬ 
dren who should perpetuate the family name has been common 
to men of all ages who have risen above the savage or barbarous 
state, though it has diminished in intensity as the idea of per¬ 
sonal immortality has come to be more generally accepted. 

Among the Israelites this desire may have been strengthened 
by the hope, which was entertained by a great number of the 
people, that in their own family line the promised Messiah, who 
it was believed would elevate their race to a position of power 
and glory among the nations of the earth, would come. But no 
such idea was entertained by the members of other tribes and 
races, who were equally anxious that their particular families, 
and through them the larger organizations with which they were 
connected, should be perpetuated. 

Something akin to this idea was carried into practice in the 


228 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


case of the famous Immortal Ten Thousand of the Persian 
army. Herodotus says that “ these Persians were called Im¬ 
mortal for the following reason: if any one of them made a 
deficiency in the number, compelled either by death or disease, 
another was ready chosen to supply his place; so that they were 
never either more or less than ten thousand.” These men were 
immortal, not as individuals, but as an organization. Every 
breach made by death was at once repaired, and this splendid 
division of the Persian army was constantly maintained at its 
highest degree of efficiency. All of its original members might 
die, and yet the ranks would remain as complete as they had 
ever been. 

By many of the peoples of earlier times the preservation of 
the family, the tribe, or the race was regarded as carrying with 
it something which pertained to the individual. The man did 
not think of himself as utterly perishing so long as his family 
should endure. Those who came after him would, he believed, 
inherit something from him which would become a part of 
themselves, and which would be transmitted from generation to 
generation of their descendants. The teachings of certain 
modern philosophical schools which profess to be able to solve 
some of the more perplexing mysteries of human existence 
seem to approach very closely to this early form of belief in the 
immortality of the race. The system which is known as the 
Religion of Science is a case in point. In this we are taught 
that “ the souls of our ancestors continue to live in us,” and 
when any individual dies “ his soul is gathered to his fathers, 
and, together with their souls, it floats on in the great stream 
of immortality .” 1 

Another form in which the doctrine of the immortality of the 
soul has found many believers makes continued existence depend- 
immortality by ent upon achievement. If this view is correct, men 
achievement are j m mortal, not by reason of anything which in¬ 
heres in the constitution of either the soul or the body, but only 
by means of what they accomplish while they are in the world. 
The great poet will live in his works; the great philanthropist 
will be remembered for his beneficence and self-sacrifice, and 
will for ages be revered by humanity; and the patriot will be 
honored by the posterity of those for whom he lived and died. 

1 Dr. Paul Carus, The Religion of Science. 


ENDLESS EXISTENCE 


Union with Deity. 


229 

The men who have striven nobly, but who have been so ham¬ 
pered by circumstances which were beyond their control that 
they have appeared to live and labor in vain, have no future 
reward. In other words, the blessings, whatever they may be, 
of this form of immortality are not bestowed for meritorious 
conduct, or earnest effort, but are given merely and only as the 
reward of success. The man who is “ found faithful in a very 
little ” will have no recognition after death. Greatness, not 
goodness, is the passport to immortality. 

There is also the form of immortality which the Egyptian and 
some of the earlier Hindu philosophers taught, which depends 
for continued existence upon a union of the soul 
with Deity. This system of doctrine has also been 
held by pantheists of all later times. It supposes that at death, 
or after it has passed through the prolonged courses of educa¬ 
tion and discipline which are necessary to fit it for such a con¬ 
summation, the personality of the individual is merged in that 
of the Universal Soul. Existence will go on forever, but the 
identity of the man himself, which is the vital element of 
immortality, will be wholly eliminated. 

Still another form in which existence after death is supposed 
to be possible is that which is properly described as personal 
immortality. This is not limited to the idea of a Persona , 
mere continuance of life after death. It not only lmmortalit y- 
promises life, but it presents that life as real and abiding. The 
soul is not merged in other souls, or in the One Soul, but it for¬ 
ever remains itself. It is conscious of its own being and certain 
of its identity. The conditions of its existence are greatly 
changed by death; but this change of circumstances and sur¬ 
roundings has no power over the real life of the soul. 

Some of the forms in which the doctrine of the immortality 
of the soul has been held are open to grave objections. The 
idea of a continued existence through the family or ^ 

0 J Objections to some 

the race is only a substitute, and a very poor one at forms of the 
that, for any real and satisfying immortality. For a 
time the race will be continued, and the family may be perpetu¬ 
ated. But if this is all, the individual sinks into oblivion at 
death. And even if he could bring himself to believe that such 
an intangible form of continued existence as this was desirable, 
it would be very far from gratifying his wish for immortality. 



LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


230 

For, so far as its own perpetuation is concerned, the race itself 
is not immortal. Science and Scripture both affirm, in the most 
emphatic manner, that the present form of the world will be 
destroyed. Individual souls may survive, but the development 
of the race as such will be terminated. 

The form of immortality which is to be secured by achieve¬ 
ment is fully as undesirable so far as what it offers is regarded, 
and is equally impotent so far as its practical outcome is con¬ 
cerned. It offers immortality as the reward of great achieve¬ 
ment, but it does not continue the personal existence. Neither 
does it make any distinction between the good and the evil who 
become prominent in the affairs of the world. A monster of 
iniquity will be remembered long after the humble saint has 
been forgotten. Poor as it is, this form of immortality can never 
be secured by the masses. It is only for the few who are able 
to rise far above the level of our common humanity. 

To the great majority of men the idea of losing the very self 
in the Universal Soul, which the pantheist recognizes as God, 
cannot be satisfactory. This, like all other theories which blot 
out the personality of the human soul, seems but little better 
than annihilation. The advocates of this theory assure us that 
the soul remains in existence, though in a different form. This 
may be true, but if the continued existence is unknown to itself 
it is hard to see how the soul is benefited. So far as its own 
consciousness is concerned, it might as well perish at death. 

As has already been stated, the idea of a personal immortality 
did not become well developed until mankind had been upon 
the earth for a considerable period. Probably the great char¬ 
acters of Scripture history, and not a few individuals of lesser 
note, perceived it distinctly, but the masses of men in the earlier 
ages of the world must have been ignorant of the great truth 
which it embodied. This may have been due in part to a want 
of intellectual, as well as a lack of spiritual development. Such 
knowledge may have been, as an understanding of the provi¬ 
dence of God was to the Psalmist, “ too wonderful ” for the ordi¬ 
nary people of that time to comprehend. 

There is no other form of the doctrine of immortality which 
can even approximately meet the wants, and satisfy the desires 
of men. This form alone offers a real and conscious state of 
being beyond the grave. Accepting this view, man can face 


ENDLESS EXISTENCE 


23I 

death with composure. It is still an enemy, it is true, and an 
enemy to which he must yield for a little time, but The om y satisfac- 
it is one over which he will eventually triumph. He tor ^ orm - 
can regard the state beyond death as a continuation, under more 
favorable conditions, of the present life. His light will neither 
be extinguished, nor be passed on to another. It will continue 
to be his own in all the boundless future which awaits him. 
Instead of going out of existence at death he can enter upon a 
purer and a far more exuberant life than that of earth. 

The fact that the great majority of thinking men, in all coun¬ 
tries, and all ages of the world, have had a more or Not a self-evident 
less clearly defined hope that they would survive the truth ‘ 
event of death must not lead us to assume that the doctrine of 
the immortality of the soul proves itself. In the world around 
us there are many hints and suggestions that it is true. Numer¬ 
ous analogies point in the same direction. All of these evidences 
receive a considerable degree of confirmation from the natural 
tendencies of our mental and moral natures. But when we 
endeavor to obtain absolute proof, such evidence, for instance, 
as is required to establish a case in one of our higher courts of 
law, we do not find it as easily as many persons who have ac¬ 
cepted the doctrine as a matter of course, and without making 
special investigation, suppose that it may be secured. We can 
truly say that the indications are so clear, the probabilities are 
so great, and the evidences are so many, that it would be unrea¬ 
sonable to doubt that life continues after the body dies. Still, 
this is not equivalent to actual demonstration, and it is the part 
of wisdom to admit the real condition of the case. Nothing is 
to be gained by refusing to see the difficulties in which it is in¬ 
volved. It may require study to find it, but we ought to know 
the truth and understand the nature of its foundation. 

The fact that the doctrine of immortality is difficult, if not 
impossible, to prove, does not militate against its truth. There 
is a sufficient cause for the difficulty, and that cause Why demonstra . 
must be apparent to any one who will think seri- tion isdi ^ cult 
ously upon the subject of future existence. The limitations of 
our earthly life and condition do not allow us to obtain a great 
deal of direct information regarding the place or state of the 
dead. As long as we live here we are practically excluded from 
what lies beyond the veil. 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


232 

Before we have proof we must have knowledge. The kind 
of knowledge that is needed to prove absolutely the fact of a 
future life must come through the senses. But the senses have 
to do with things that are tangible, that are now present to them, 
or that have been previously observed. From what they assure 
us regarding the present and the past we may infer certain things 
in regard to the future. But this is very different from knowing 
just what will occur. Because the sun has appeared to rise and 
set day after day, for century after century, and age after age, it 
is reasonable to suppose that the same phenomena will occur 
to-morrow. Probably no one who reads these lines has the 
slightest doubt that this will be the case. But no one can be 
absolutely sure that his expectation will be fulfilled. There will 
come a day upon which such a supposition would be an error. 
Upon the to-morrow of that day the sun will neither rise nor 
set. When the wreck of our planetary system occurs — and its 
wreck is inevitable—the phenomena of nature which are now 
so orderly, and apparently so stable, will come to an end. This 
event may not occur for ages. Its date is a matter of conjecture 
and not of knowledge. The one thing concerning it of which 
we can be absolutely sure is that it will come at its appointed 
time. 

Now if we cannot obtain absolute proof concerning future 
events in the natural world, of which our five senses give us so 
much and such varied information, we should not be either sur¬ 
prised or discouraged because we are unable, by their use, to 
obtain definite knowledge regarding what may be the lot of man 
after death. When he dies, man enters a realm that is beyond 
the limits of the earthly vision. If we appeal to our natural 
senses to determine his state and condition we are using instru¬ 
ments which are not at all adapted to serve the purpose of our 
investigation. The microscope is a wonderful instrument, and, 
when used for the purpose for which it was designed, it gives 
marvelous results, but it is worse than useless when we want to 
view the stars. If we are to study the heavenly bodies to any 
advantage we must use a telescope. On the same principle, if 
we are to learn of spiritual things we must, to a great extent, use 
our spiritual faculties. For such a purpose the senses, which 
serve us so well in our study of the physical universe, are wholly 
inadequate. They are not the right kind of instruments. 


ENDLESS EXISTENCE 


2 33 


On account of the difficulty of obtaining proof regarding the 
future life of man, various objections to the doctrine of the im¬ 
mortality of the soul have been made. To a few objections to the 
minds these objections carry conviction. To many f 0 c n % i Zmor- r ~ 
others they are simply disquieting. Upon the great talif y- 
majority they make but a slight impression. The replies to 
some of these objections have been anticipated in preceding 
pages of this work. Perhaps, in connection with certain other 
arguments which are supposed to throw doubt upon, if they do 
not disprove, a future existence, they should here receive a little 
further notice. 

The intimate connection of the body and the soul during the 
present life is thought by some to make a future life impossible. 
The physical and spiritual natures are inseparably 

. . i • t r a i i i 1 J Intimate union of 

joined in life. At death they must either be parted physical and 
or both must perish. The body dies and the soul spmtuat natures - 
cannot live in the dead body. It is claimed, by some, that the 
body is just as necessary for the existence of the soul, as it is 
itself dependent upon the soul for its own life. But this claim 
is founded only upon belief. It is supposition, not knowledge. 
The one who makes it can no more prove that the soul perishes 
when the body dies than the believer in the doctrine of immor¬ 
tality can prove that the soul survives. One supposition is 
placed over against another, but the vastly superior powers of 
the soul, which have been dwelt upon in another chapter, make 
the probabilities very great that it can, and will, continue to 
exist after the body has fallen into ruin. 

The objection is often made that there can be “ no life without 
organization.” This may, or may not, be correct. So far as the 
objector is concerned it is assumption, pure and sim- Lifedependent 
pie. He has never seen indications of life apart from upon organize 

r C r . . 1 1*1 . tion. 

some form of organization, but this does not prove 
that such life cannot exist. There are a great many things, in 
this world as well as beyond it, of which he is ignorant. It is 
neither necessary nor wise for other men to limit their faith by 
his knowledge. But even if the objection proves to be well 
founded it is not insuperable. It is not certain that the inhabit¬ 
ants of the spiritual world are in an entirely disembodied state, 
or that they entered their new abode in such a condition. There 
are many people, and among them some eminent scientists, who 
15 * 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


234 

hold that man has a body within his physical frame. The com¬ 
position of this body is not known. It is so ethereal that it can¬ 
not be detected by the tests which are employed in determining 
the qualities of ordinary matter. Possibly it is formed of some¬ 
thing regarding which we have no definite knowledge, and that 
in its nature it closely resembles the soul which it clothes. This 
is an interesting conjecture, which will receive further attention 
in another section of this work. 

The objection, which has been noted, against the immortality 
of the race in this world is easily sustained. Man cannot have 
The destruction unending existence here because the earth itself is 
of the earth. t0 b e destroyed. There is, under the present order, 

a great and unceasing dissipation of energy. The time will 
come when, instead of the magnificent coursing of innumerable 
worlds through almost illimitable space, whatever has escaped 
destruction will be at perfect rest. Around this “single lone 
star ” impenetrable darkness will gather, and upon its surface life 
cannot be maintained. 

This, however, does not prove that man must perish. It does 
not follow that he cannot live anywhere simply because he can¬ 
not live here. There may be worlds, and systems of worlds, of 
which we are wholly ignorant, yet which far surpass those of the 
physical universe. And these worlds, which to us are as yet 
unseen and unknown, may prove to be the real and the perma¬ 
nent creation, the homes in which the children of God will for¬ 
ever abide. 

To some persons it seems almost impossible that they can live 
elsewhere. The idea that they must go into another world, of 
the location of which they are ignorant, and concerning which 
they have no information except what they receive by faith, 
appalls them. This is not wholly unnatural. A great mystery 
hangs around the future life. It is something which we do not 
understand, and which, of course, we cannot comprehend, yet the 
mystery is no greater than was that which veiled our entrance 
into this world. When we were born this world was just as new 
to us as another world can be when we die. We shall be no 
greater strangers there than we were here. And it is only reason¬ 
able to believe that the Father who provided for our appearance 
here will make ample preparations for our reception elsewhere. 

There is also the objection, which has been made by certain 


ENDLESS EXISTENCE 235 

philosophical schools, that “whatever had a beginning must 
have an end.” If viewed from a materialistic stand- A ph u OSO phicai 
point this may seem to be true. But to the man who objection ’ 
believes in the Bible this objection should not prove disquieting. 
He will reason that the God who created him, and who has con¬ 
tinued him in being unto the present time, can prolong his exist¬ 
ence forever. As he lives, and moves, and has his being in God 
now, he has reason to suppose that the sustaining power of his 
Creator will be continued after death. 

It cannot be denied that some of the many objections which, 
in one form or another, have been brought against the doctrine 
of personal immortality present real difficulties. In 1 - he doctrine not 
this it does not differ from most other religious doc- dis P roved - 
trines, or from the numerous theories which scientists have ad¬ 
vanced to sustain the positions which they have taken in regard 
to matters in their own special lines. Every system, whether of 
religion or science or philosophy, has its advocates and its oppo¬ 
nents. Very few doctrines which are of any real importance 
are so completely self-evident as to be accepted by large num¬ 
bers of intelligent men without investigation. As a rule, such 
doctrines are subjected to sharp and long-continued criticism. 

While some of the objections to the doctrine that life persists 
beyond the grave are not easily answered, there are many others 
in which the trouble which they suggest is far more apparent 
than it is real. But when all these arguments are combined the 
doctrine against which they are brought is not disproved. The 
strongest argument is merely negative. When all the antago¬ 
nistic forces are united they only leave the case in doubt. Prob¬ 
ably in the great majority of cases in which the doctrine of 
personal immortality is not accepted the want of assent is due 
to agnosticism rather than to positive unbelief. The case is 
really held in suspense. More light is desired. The final deci¬ 
sion has not been rendered. The arguments which have been 
presented as proofs are not wholly convincing. They do not 
quite eliminate the element of doubt. 

While we cannot prove it in the manner that we can prove 
that lead is heavy, or iron is hard, or phosphorus is inflam¬ 
mable, there are many reasons which lead us to ReaS onsfor 
believe that the soul is immortal. Some of these be,ief ‘ 
are much stronger than others, but even the weakest have a 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


236 

certain degree of value, not only in themselves, but also in sus¬ 
taining and enforcing those which are more pronounced. When 
all are united they present a mass of evidence which makes very 
probable the truth of the doctrine which they are employed to 
support. 

It does not appear to be either necessary or desirable to refer 
to all of these arguments in detail. Some of them have already 
been noted in other connections, though a few of these may 
need a brief reference in the present chapter. Various other 
arguments are of too great importance to be omitted. But a 
really exhaustive treatment of the subject would far exceed the 
limits of the present work, as well as prove a great deal more 
elaborate than its readers would desire. 

Along some lines, as those of physiology and psychology, 
there are apparent antagonisms. One set of facts can be col¬ 
lected which present strong indications that the whole man per¬ 
ishes at death. Another and, as it seems to the writer, a far 
more convincing array of truths can be obtained which go to 
prove that the destruction of the tenement which it had inhab¬ 
ited does not injure the soul. Like the Roman god, Janus, 
these sciences, in this particular respect, seem to face both ways. 
Both believers and unbelievers in the doctrine of immortality 
obtain arguments from them. But there are other lines along 
which we seek information in respect to the future of man which 
are not so easily made to do service for both parties in the con¬ 
test. In the natural world, for instance, there are indications of 
what ought to be, and indeed must be, the result of death if the 
purpose which appears to have been present in the mind of the 
Creator is to be carried out. In the moral world the necessity 
of a future life in order that the right may prevail, and that man 
may see that God is good and just, is still more apparent. 

In earlier times the advocates of the doctrine of the immortal¬ 
ity of the soul made a considerable use of the analogies of nature 
Analogies of in support of their views. They argued that the 
naiure. alternations of day and night pointed to a new life 

for man beyond the grave. As the sun, after appearing in the 
east, slowly approaches the zenith and then gradually declines 
until its light is no longer seen, yet appears in undimmed splen¬ 
dor on the morning of the following day, so man, it is said, may 
proceed from infancy to middle life, and go gradually and almost 


ENDLESS EXISTENCE 


237 

imperceptibly down the decline of increasing age until he disap¬ 
pears in death, only to reappear after a comparatively brief inter¬ 
val in all the vigor of his previous existence. 

The renewal of vegetation in the spring, after the devastation 
which winter had wrought, was supposed to point in the same 
direction. The leafless trees, the withered flowers, and the grass 
that was apparently dead, were regarded as symbols of the de¬ 
parture of man from the earth. In the spring, when the trees 
put forth their leaves, the flowers came into bloom, the grass 
covered the earth with a carpet of green, and all nature was 
clothed with the glory and affluence of life in its most beautiful 
forms, all visible things seemed fitted to lead the thought of 
man to the hope that after the winter of death there would be 
for him, as well as for the tree and the plant, a renewed and an 
abundant life. 

The change in the seed, which when buried in the ground 
undergoes a process of decay and yet springs into a far more 
exuberant life than it had previously enjoyed, was also largely 
employed to illustrate the doctrine that life is not destroyed by 
death. It was supposed that, like the seed, the body of man 
would perish; but as from the decaying seed a new plant was 
produced, so it was thought that from the buried dust of man a 
new body, which was endowed with a fuller and a more vigorous 
life than had previously been enjoyed, would eventually come. 

Then, too, the transformations of various insects were sup¬ 
posed to give a considerable degree of probability to the doc¬ 
trine of the immortality of man. The insect appears to die. Its 
form remains, but it seems as inert as a clod. Yet within this 
seemingly inanimate form a great change takes place. Another 
and a widely different body is developed. At length, from the 
chrysalis, which appears to be utterly dead, a winged insect 
comes forth. The color is much more beautiful, and the form 
is far more perfect, than any in which the creature had pre¬ 
viously appeared. So it was thought that man might seem to 
be dead, and that his body might rest for a time in the grave, 
but that eventually he would come forth with renewed life and 
in a far nobler form than that in which his soul had dwelt dur¬ 
ing the period of the earthly life. 

To a certain extent these analogies are helpful. They indi¬ 
cate possibilities, and they suggest probabilities, but they fall far 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


238 

short of proof. None of them are perfect. Some of them are 
These analogies weak. The one first noted is especially feeble. The 
defective. disappearance of the sun at night and its reappear¬ 
ance in undimmed glory in the morning is altogether different 
from what the night of death brings to man. So far as we 
know, or have any reason to believe, the sun is precisely the 
same at night that it is by day. We cannot see it at night as we 
can during the day merely and only because the relative position 
of the observed and the observer has changed. At one period 
the sun is within, and at the other period it is beyond, the range 
of our vision. By traveling around the world a man may disap¬ 
pear from our sight just as the sun does, and in due time we 
may see him again in the full vigor of his powers. During this 
journey he remains practically the same man that he was when 
he went away. We recognize him as the identical individual 
when he returns. 

In these respects there is a marked similarity. Both the sun 
and the man pass, for a time, beyond the range of our observa¬ 
tion, and both seem to have remained uninjured. But when 
a man is taken from our sight by the agency of death the case 
is so widely different from that of the setting and rising sun -as 
hardly to admit of comparison. Death does a great deal more 
to a man than to merely change the relation in which he stands 
to the world around him. To the body, which is the visible 
man, it brings total ruin. Before he can again appear in the 
human form a marvelous change must be wrought. His ability 
to go away from us, and return to us, during life does not prove 
that he will continue to exist after he has been called away from 
the earth itself by death. 

The apparent cessation of vegetable life in the winter, which 
is followed by its renewal in the spring, is something very differ¬ 
ent from what befalls man at death. As long as this phenomenon 
is observed the trees and plants which are employed as object 
lessons to teach that life persists after death do not die. While 
this alternation continues their organisms remain intact. Life 
has not departed, it is merely quiescent. The trees and plants 
sleep during the cold season. They have, like men, alternate 
periods of activity and repose. And what has been so often 
compared to death and reanimation is only their sleeping and 
waking. But this alternation will not continue indefinitely. 


ENDLESS EXISTENCE 


239 

The time will come when the tree and the plant will die as truly 
as the body of man dies. Then their organisms will perish, as 
the human body perishes, utterly and, so far as our senses can 
determine, forever. When once the vital element has departed 
the forms of the tree and the plant are as lifeless as is the form 
of a man who has died. 

The analogy of the seed which appears to have a life after 
death is also at fault. The seed does not wholly perish and 
then spring into a new life. If once the germ dies, either before 
or after the seed falls into the ground, there will never be the 
slightest manifestation of life. It is claimed, of course, that man 
does not utterly perish at death. Something leaves the body, 
and that something continues to exist. But all that is visible 
of the human form is destroyed. In the case of the seed the 
destructive process is not as complete. Something tangible 
continues to live. 

There is another point at which this analogy fails. The seed 
may grow, and be productive, but its identity is destroyed. The 
grain that is harvested is not the grain that is sown. The oak 
is not the acorn from which it came. Every trace of individ¬ 
uality has disappeared. Upon seeing an acorn and an oak-tree 
for the first time, one who had not read about them would not 
suspect that two such dissimilar objects sustained any close rela¬ 
tionship to each other. The change from the seed to the plant, 
or the tree which grows from it, is far too great to allow it to be 
properly used as an illustration of the effect of death upon the 
human being. The destruction of personality, which occurs in 
the case of the seed, would, if it took place in the higher realm, 
make any desirable immortality of the human soul impossible. 

The analogy of the insect which appears to perish in one 
form and then come forth in another, and a far more highly 
developed state, is also defective. It is true that the butterfly is 
greatly superior, in beauty and in capacity, to the chrysalis from 
which it was developed. For a time it seems as though a tri¬ 
umph over death had been secured. The homely, crawling 
worm passes through a change which outwardly resembles that 
which death brings to man. Yet, as the result of that apparent 
death, the insect becomes a beautiful creature which can soar 
in the air with ease and grace and which is full of joyous life. 
But erelong another change comes. This time the change is 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


24 O 

destructive. What occurs at this stage is not transformation, 
but death. 

During the period of life the analogy is striking. The failure 
is at the final point. The worm, or caterpillar, changes to a 
chrysalis, and from the chrysalis the butterfly appears and enters 
upon a far more extended sphere of life than it had been pre¬ 
viously given. So the human being changes from youth to 
middle life, and from this point proceeds to old age. These 
transitions, though gradual, are marked by great changes. At 
each advance much that belonged to the previous life is left 
behind. To a considerable extent we die to the earlier stage of 
being and enter a new life with each succeeding term. But 
this does not prove that the process can be continued indefi¬ 
nitely. In the case of the insect the highest state of its visible 
life is very brief, and there is nothing to indicate that it will ever 
be renewed. Man, also, comes to the last visible stage of his 
existence, and, after the lapse of a period which varies with the 
circumstances of each individual case, goes down into the dark¬ 
ness of the grave. Judging from the analogy alone, we should 
be obliged to conclude that the insect and the man had met a 
common fate. 

The fact that the arguments in favor of the immortality of 
the human soul which are drawn from the analogies of nature 
0 are not convincing should not shake even the fee- 

expected to blest faith in this great doctrine. From the very 
nature of the case analogies cannot be equivalent to 
proof. They are valuable as indications of what is probable, 
and also as corroborations of other evidences which point in the 
same direction. They count for something in themselves, and 
they increase the total amount of the testimony in behalf of the 
doctrine which they indirectly sustain. Farther than this they 
cannot go. 

The fact that men of all races, and all times, have had a hope, 
and to a very great extent an expectation, that the soul would 
. survive the body, is to be ranged with the stronger 
evidences than those which analogies furnish that 
the death of a human being does not destroy his existence. In 
the spiritual world, just as truly as in the natural world, every¬ 
thing has an adequate cause. The almost “ universal consent ” 
of mankind which has been given to this idea must have sprung 


CHURCH OF ST. JOHN, AT SAMARIA. BUILT BY THE CRUSADERS. 



















ENDLESS EXISTENCE 


24I 

from something that is deeply implanted in the very nature of 
the human soul. It cannot have come by means of communica¬ 
tion, for it is held by peoples who for ages have been ignorant 
even of the existence of each other. Neither can it have been 
due to a similarity of mental processes, for it is common to peo¬ 
ple whose methods of thought, and whose intellectual capacities, 
differ as greatly as do their natural surroundings. It cannot 
have been due to accident or to chance. It is inconceivable that 
such a doctrine should have been so widely disseminated and so 
generally received if there had been no solid foundation upon 
which it could rest. Surely, this hope and longing for a future 
life must be built upon something far more substantial than an 
“ iridescent dream.” 

To this conclusion it has been objected that the fact that a 
specific thing is desired does not make it certain that the partic¬ 
ular object that is wanted will be secured. Life An objection to this 
brings numberless disappointments. To many it 9roundof belief ' 
seems to be very largely made up of failures to accomplish the 
purposes to the fulfillment of which thought, and care, and toil 
are lavishly given. We desire, and labor, and perhaps pray, 
with earnestness and persistence, for certain things which seem 
to be of great importance to ourselves, and yet the blessings 
which we so much desire are not secured. The great majority 
of intelligent people are constantly longing for something which 
they never can obtain. Even those who have fortunes which 
enable them to secure everything that money can purchase 
are obliged to leave many a wish ungratified. From this com¬ 
mon disappointment regarding the things of the present life 
some have argued that it is highly probable that there is an 
equal degree of uncertainty concerning a future state of exist¬ 
ence. 

If there were no God this line of reasoning would be legiti¬ 
mate. In that case there could be no better ground for suppos¬ 
ing that the desire for a future life will be granted The obJection not 
than there is for expecting that whatever is wanted sustained - 
in this world can be obtained. But if we admit that there is a 
God who is interested in us, and who watches over us, this 
objection counts for naught. We shall then see that the object 
of life is not to secure happiness for ourselves in this world. 
We are here to glorify our Maker, to do good to our fellow 
16 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


242 

men, and to form characters which will enable us to be happy 
in the great future which awaits us after we die. Consequently, 
the fact that we often fail to obtain the things that we now 
desire, many of which might prove injurious if our wishes were 
granted, is not to be regarded as evidence that we shall be baf¬ 
fled concerning what is for our highest and our eternal welfare. 
It is fair to suppose that God withholds the minor things of the 
earthly life in order to turn our thoughts to the great realities 
which lie beyond, and to qualify us by this loving, though appar¬ 
ently severe, discipline to receive and enjoy the marvelous bless¬ 
ings which He has in store for us. 

Another weak point to this objection is found in the fact that 
the things which men long for in this present world vary greatly 
with different peoples, and with the different individuals of the 
same race. A condition that would be entirely satisfactory to 
an Eskimo would seem intolerable to an average Englishman. 
And what one educated man would prefer might be extremely 
distasteful to another man who is equally well educated and 
whose circumstances closely resemble those of his fellow. Some 
men desire to amass vast fortunes, others seek high positions, 
and many would be glad to live in luxurious ease. One man 
would be a great poet, another would become an eminent archi¬ 
tect. All men have their longings, but the desires of all men 
are not for the same objects. In fact, the specific things which 
men desire, and regarding the attainment of which they are so 
often disappointed, are almost innumerable. They are nearly 
as diverse in character as they are great in number. 

Aside from the hope of a future life there is no centring of 
desire upon any single object. One man wants one thing while 
another man seeks something widely different. But concerning 
the desire for a future existence the vast majority of men are 
agreed. The race as a whole desires immortality. This fact is 
strong presumptive evidence that the wish will be gratified. Be¬ 
cause men are denied some of the great number of things which 
they want here, it does not follow that the united appeal of the 
race will be disregarded. 

The fact of this almost universal desire for a continued life is 
in itself very strong evidence that there is to be such an exist¬ 
ence. So far as this world is concerned, our longings are for 
things that are real. Our circumstances may be such that we 


ENDLESS EXISTENCE 


243 


cannot obtain them, but there is no doubt in our minds as to 
their existence. If there were no such things we should not, 
indeed we could not, desire them. “ Nothing ever gravitates 
toward nothing.” Wherever there is attraction there must be 
something to attract. Wherever there is a longing there must 
be something to be longed for. The only reasonable explana¬ 
tion of this widely spread and persistent hope of and belief in a 
future life is that there will be an existence beyond the grave. 
“ Whatever endures from age to age, whatever will not die, 
whatever resists expulsion from the feelings of the race and 
maintains its sway over the human heart, gives overwhelming 
evidence that it is true.” 1 

It is quite common to think and to speak of a continued ex¬ 
istence beyond the grave as something which is in direct con¬ 
flict with natural law. Many earnest believers in immortality and 
the doctrine of the immortality of the human soul naturallauj - 
hold this belief. They are convinced that if there is no interpo¬ 
sition of a higher power the death of the body will involve the 
destruction of the individual. This they believe would be in 
strict accordance with the principles of the laws of the universe. 
But they also hold that the existence of law proves that there 
must be a lawgiver, and it is certain that the maker of the law 
must be superior to the law itself. Therefore they admit that 
the natural course of events may be changed, and what appeared 
under the rule of law to be impossible may be readily accom¬ 
plished. The principle is sound, and the lesson which, in this 
case, is drawn from it is true, but it is probable that the men 
who make it a very prominent article of their belief have over¬ 
estimated the difficulties which natural law presents. They are 
relying almost wholly upon faith when they might, to a consid¬ 
erable degree, walk by sight. 

The persistence of life beyond death is not as contrary to the 
natural order of things as a superficial study of the subject would 
lead us to suppose. It is true that everything that lives upon 
the earth seems to die and pass away. But if we look a little 
deeper into the matter we shall find that one of the great laws 
of the universe is the law of life. Death and decay in the 
natural world are followed by living forms. A vast amount of 
vegetation perishes in the autumn, but in the following spring 

1 George A. Gordon, D. D., The Witness to Immortality. 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


244 

the earth is again covered with plants. The monarch of the 
forest dies, and passes through the various stages of vegetable 
decay until not the slightest trace of its form remains, but, if the 
ordinary processes of nature are not interfered with, another tree 
will take the place which had been occupied by the one that has 
disappeared. Animals, also, perish, but the places which they 
vacate are soon occupied by other creatures. Under the disin¬ 
tegrating influences of moisture and sunshine even the rocks 
waste away, but the elements of plant food which they contain 
are taken up by vegetation, and the decay of the apparently inert 
stone brings into an available condition material which promotes 
the growth and increases the vigor of the living things which 
feed upon it. 

Professor Huxley taught that putrefaction, which is commonly 
regarded as the last stage of decay, “ is a concomitant, not of 
death, but of life.” The microscope shows that the slight spots 
which appear at the beginning of this process are minute, but 
living plants. So it is all through the natural world. Inani¬ 
mate objects, as well as all living beings, are subject to decay, 
but in all the vast changes which have occurred under the do¬ 
minion of this inexorable and universal law no atom has ever 
perished, and as long as the material universe continues to exist 
not a single particle of matter will be destroyed. 

This endless procession of death and life has its lesson for all 
observers. It glorifies life. While death seems to triumph, the 
processes of restoration are incessantly going on. What death 
casts down is constantly being rebuilt. It is not according to 
the law of nature that death should prevail. Its victories are 
many, but they are transient. Only by incessant activity does it 
succeed in maintaining the proper balance in the natural world. 
If it were allowed to proceed unchecked the exuberance of life 
would soon cause such an excessive production of plants and 
animals as to bring about the utter ruin of all living things upon 
the earth. 

Yet it must be confessed that the continuance of life under 
the conditions which have been noted does not prove that the 
soul of man is immortal. For in all of these cases we have a 
substitution, rather than a persistence, of life. Death is followed 
by life, it is true, but that which follows is not the same life as 
that which ceased at death. The forest remains a forest, though 


ENDLESS EXISTENCE 


245 

tree after tree decays. There may be as many trees there to-day 
as there were two centuries ago, but they are not the same trees. 
As many animals may find their homes in the regions in which 
man has not interfered with the natural conditions as were ever 
there at a single time, but they are not the identical animals that 
lived there in early days. 

So, also, is it with mankind. The procession constantly 
marches on. The vast throng increases rather than diminishes. 
The city was never more populous than it is to-day. The coun¬ 
try was never more densely inhabited. But while the numbers 
have been kept good the individuals have changed. Instead of 
the fathers we see the children, and they, too, are rapidly drop¬ 
ping out of the ranks and making room for their successors. 
While the sum total of life does not decrease, and the tide seems 
to promise a continuous flow for an indefinite period, the indi¬ 
vidual life does not permanently remain. There is no positive 
evidence of immortality here. 

Thus far the evidence which is to be gathered from the opera¬ 
tion of natural law is not convincing. But we are not obliged 
to stop here. We can look beyond the point to Additional 
which we have now arrived. The individual dies, it euidence - 
is true. As far as the senses can determine it is only the race 
that goes on. As the result of death the man passes beyond the 
limited field of our observation. Still, we can see that the decay 
of the body does not involve the destruction of the elements of 
which the organism was composed. Science has proved that 
matter cannot become non-existent. Once created it must re¬ 
main forever unless the fiat of its Creator shall consign it to 
nothingness. In and of itself it is indestructible. 

The laws which apply to matter also govern in the realm of 
force. No movement can be effected without an expenditure 
of energy, but the force that is used is not destroyed. Its direc¬ 
tion is changed, but it is neither lost nor diminished. No finite 
power can accomplish its destruction. Now there is something 
in man which directs and controls all of the movements of his 
body. This is a spiritual force, and there is no more reason to 
suppose that it ever can cease to be than there is to think that 
the changes of material substances result in their annihilation. 
Of the departed soul we can easily believe that 

“ Death hath not touched it at all, dead though the house of it seems.” 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


246 

Many facts have been stated to prove that the soul is greatly 
superior to the body. The natural inference from these facts is 
The spiritual that though the lower nature must perish, the higher 

mature. nature will survive. We have seen that the mind 

has a certain degree of independence of the body. In dreams 
the bodily powers are at perfect rest, while the mental faculties 
are often abnormally active. The dreamer lives in a house which 
to him is as real as any material structure could possibly be. 
He walks in fields which appear to be like those which he has 
often seen in his waking hours. He seems to hear music as 
sweet as any that ever delighted his ear. In some cases these 
dreams are new presentations of things which are already known. 
In others they picture scenes which are not at all familiar. 
Through an endless maze of combinations the mental processes 
go on. Yet all of the time the physical senses are locked in 
sleep. The life that is lived at such times is a life of the soul. 
Cases of suspended animation, to which reference has also been 
made, show still more completely the superiority of the soul to 
the body. 

Another point that should be mentioned in this connection is 
the fact that while dreams are only occasional manifestations 
of the independent life of the soul, man has powers 
which never sleep. Often, unconsciously to himself, 
they warn him of danger in his waking hours. In the sleep 
of the body they seem to be constantly alert. If anything 
unusual occurs, they give the alarm. Thus, a man will sleep 
soundly amid the noise of cars and wagons in city streets, to 
which he is accustomed, and yet be awakened by an unusual 
disturbance in his room, even though it may be very slight. He 
may sleep undisturbed while an eloquent sermon is being deliv¬ 
ered, but awake as soon as the preacher ceases to speak. A 
noise, like the ticking of a clock, in a room in which one works 
or sleeps, will not be noticed after the person becomes accus¬ 
tomed to it. Day after day, and night after night, it can go on, 
apparently without making the slightest impression upon the 
mind, but if it ceases, the change will be quickly noticed. This 
shows that there is a power in man which is of a high order, and 
which, so far as we can learn, does not depend upon any of the 
bodily senses. 

The phenomena which have been mentioned, with others of a 


Sleepless 

powers. 


ENDLESS EXISTENCE 


247 

similar nature, led a careful student of this subject to inquire 
whether this power is any more dependent upon the senses for 
its conscious activity than the life of the eagle is dependent upon 
the cage in which it is confined . 1 To this question there appears 
to be only one rational reply. The power which persists in 
sleep, which remains unimpaired for days, or even weeks, in 
cases of suspended animation, and which stands guard in all 
waking hours, is not likely to be extinguished when it is re¬ 
moved from the body through which, during the life of the latter, 
its capacities have been manifested. 

We must either conclude that the soul lives after its separa¬ 
tion from its earthly tabernacle, or else admit that the many 
claims which we have made for its superiority can- //fAesow/ 
not be sustained. In youth and middle life the body f ,erishes - 
is strong and vigorous, yet it appears to be under the dominion 
of the soul. But as death approaches the body loses its power. 
It becomes weaker even than it was in the helpless days of 
infancy. If at this critical time the soul fares just as the body 
fares, we have a signal proof that our former estimate of the rela¬ 
tive importance and powers of the two natures was incorrect. 
The soul is just as weak as the body when the latter has reached 
its feeblest stage of existence. Such a supposition is not to be 
entertained. 

A large number of believers in the doctrine of the immortality 
of the soul base their faith, to a considerable degree, upon alleged 
spiritual manifestations of which they have read or spiritual mani- 
heard, or concerning which they have personal know- f estations - 
ledge. If these phenomena have been correctly observed, and 
properly interpreted, the fact that existence continues after death 
is clearly established. This would not prove that the human 
soul is absolutely immortal, for it would not give assurance that 
the last crisis of its existence had been passed. There would be 
a possibility that something more destructive than the death of 
the body was yet in reserve. Still, if convincing proof can be 
found that souls have survived the event of death, and have for 
months, or years, or perhaps even for ages, maintained a con¬ 
scious existence apart from their bodies, it will give the doctrine 
of immortality a very strong claim to belief. 

A vast mass of evidence has been accumulated. Much of it is 

1 L. T. Townsend, D. D., Credo . 


Communication 
with the dead. 


248 LIFE TRIUMPHANT 

worse than worthless, for it is unquestionably fraudulent. Much, 
Various kinds of too, has been presented by people who were ignorant 
evidence. 0 f p S y C hic powers and phenomena, and who, in con¬ 
sequence of this ignorance, were wholly unfitted to estimate its 
value. There have also been a great many reports which were 
founded upon an utter misapprehension of the real facts in the 
cases which were under observation. But when all these deduc¬ 
tions have been made, there still remains no small amount of 
testimony which demands the attention of those who are hon¬ 
estly seeking the truth regarding the condition of the soul after 
death. 

From very early times to the present day there have been 
those who believed in the continued life of the spirits of the dead, 
because they have, as they supposed, either seen the 
departed or received communications from them. 
There have also been persons who professed to act as “ medi¬ 
ums ” between the spirits of the dead and people upon the earth. 
The practice of this art was forbidden by the Mosaic law, and 
at some periods in the history of the Israelites a statute which 
required that those having familiar spirits should be put to death 
was enforced with a good deal of vigor, though it did not entirely 
suppress the evil against which it was directed. In modern 
times mediums have become very numerous. The methods 
which they follow are different from those of the necromancers 
of the olden times, but, like their predecessors, they claim the 
power of communicating with the spirits of the dead. 

In both ancient and modern times there has been much of 
fraud and misconception regarding the so-called manifestations 
from the spirit world. These phases of the subject will be more 
fully treated in a succeeding section, in which the possibility of 
communication between the living and the departed will be con¬ 
sidered. For the purposes of this chapter, only a few of the more 
prominent points need be noted. 

Those who hold to the literal interpretation of all statements 
of Scripture, and some who do not go to this length in their 
neappearance estimate of the meaning of certain passages, find in 
ofsamuei. the Biblical account of the appearance of the pro¬ 

phet Samuel to Saul on the eve of the battle which cost the 
king his crown and his life, unquestionable proof that physical 
death is not equivalent to an extinction of being. 


ENDLESS EXISTENCE 


249 

In the great distress caused by his fear of the Philistines, and 
his desertion by the God to whom he had proved unfaithful, 
Saul disguised himself, and with two companions sought a 
woman who was reputed to have a familiar spirit. Arrived at 
her home, the king asked her to bring to him the person whom he 
should name. After he had overcome her fears that the penalty 
of death, which Saul himself had decreed against all who were 
found to have familiar spirits, would be inflicted, and promised 
with an oath that no punishment should come to her if she 
obeyed his request, the woman consented to do as he desired. 
The king then directed her to bring up Samuel, and according 
to the narrative the prophet appeared at her call. 

It is not said that Saul himself saw Samuel, and a number 
of writers have endeavored to explain the whole story on the 
ground of deception. They claim that the woman pretended to 
bring up the soul of the deceased prophet, and that in his highly 
excited condition the king was easily persuaded that it was a 
genuine appearance. His bodily weakness and mental distress 
made it easy to impose upon him, and Saul readily accepted as 
truth something which had no foundation in fact. 

This explanation is not satisfactory. There are strong evi¬ 
dences that a real presence from another world came into the 
home of the woman who professed to have communication with 
the souls of the dead. Doubtless this woman had been in the 
habit of practicing fraud. Probably in this case she expected to 
be obliged to resort to deception in order to convince the king 
that her claims were true. But the result of her efforts to main¬ 
tain her reputation filled her with alarm. Evidently there was 
an appearance which she did not expect, and which she greatly 
feared. Her description of the figure satisfied Saul that it was 
really the prophet with whom he desired to converse. Samuel 
inquires why he has been disquieted and brought back to earth. 
Saul tells of his sore distress and asks what he shall do. The 
prophet reminds him of his great sin in failing to obey one of 
the direct commands of God, foretells the defeat of Israel on the 
coming day, and the death, at that time, of Saul and his sons . 1 

The narrative appears to be the record of an actual occur¬ 
rence. The fact that only the woman claimed to see the pro¬ 
phet, and that the king recognized him merely by her description, 

1 1 Samuel xxviii. 8-19. 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


250 

does not seem to warrant the conclusion that the spirit of Sam¬ 
uel did not really appear. Possibly the woman might, from 
what she had heard of the condition of the army, and from 
the demeanor of its commander, have predicted defeat without 
reference to supernatural causes, but it is hardly probable that 
she would do this. It is easier and more natural for one in 
her position to speak words of cheer to one who is in deep 
trouble than it is to be harsh and unfeeling. Her subsequent 
kindness in urging the weary and heart-broken monarch to par¬ 
take of food is not at all in accordance with the idea that she 
desired to add to his fear and anxiety. Still less is it probable 
that she would have reproved the king for his sin, and have 
assured him that on the following day he and his sons would be 
with the prophet in another world. There is a far greater 
degree of difficulty in finding any other reasonable explanation 
of her course than there is in accepting the narrative as a plain 
statement of the actual return of the soul of the prophet to this 
world. 

If the incident related was literally true, it is certain that in 
the case of Samuel existence continued after death. And it is 
equally clear that it was as living, conscious beings that Saul 
and his sons were to join the prophet in the unseen world. It 
is safe to infer that the soul has a power, derived from God of 
course, but none the less inherent in its constitution, which 
enables it to live apart from the material body which it uses 
while it is in this world. 

While it appears to be certain that the soul of the prophet, 
who had died and whose body had been buried, came back to 
ne medium earth as a special messenger of God in response to 

powerless. the pj ea 0 f one whom in his lifetime he had been 

a counselor and a friend, it does not follow that the woman 
whose aid was invoked as a medium had the slightest degree of 
control of the departed spirit. Saul certainly hoped, and he 
seems to have expected, that the prophet would really respond 
to his appeal, but the woman was both surprised and frightened 
at the result of her incantations. If she had really possessed 
the power which she claimed, she would have been as expectant 
as was the king, and even more confident that the spirit of the 
one whom she called would answer the summons. Whatever 
evidence they may furnish, there is nothing in this incident to 


ENDLESS EXISTENCE 251 

encourage the belief that mediums of the present day can call to 
earth the spirits of the dead. 

In the New Testament we find the record of an appearance 
upon earth of two persons, one of whom had been dead nearly 
fifteen hundred years, and the other not less than nine hundred 
years. Christ had ascended a high mountain, taking with Him 
as companions Peter and James and John. Here the Master 
was transfigured. “ His face did shine as the sun, and His gar¬ 
ments became white as the light. And behold, there appeared 
unto them Moses and Elijah talking with Him.” 

If the New Testament is true, there can be no possible doubt 
that Moses and Elijah really appeared upon the Mount of Trans¬ 
figuration. The three disciples whom Christ had T he appearance of 
taken with Him not only saw these illustrious saints 
but they also knew who they were. Peter proposed to build a 
tabernacle for each of the distinguished visitors. Had the dis¬ 
ciples who witnessed the interview been mistaken, either as to 
the reality of the appearance or the personality of the men who 
talked with their Master, He certainly would have corrected 
their error. But no such correction was offered, and the direct 
statement that these disciples had seen Moses and Elijah in 
company and conversation with Christ was made in three in¬ 
spired narratives of the life of our Saviour. No stronger evi¬ 
dence of the genuineness of the appearance or the truth of the 
record could be desired. 

The numerous appearances of Christ Himself after His resur¬ 
rection are also to be regarded as proof that life does not end 
when the soul departs from the body. An objection The appearances 
to this evidence is sometimes made on the ground °f Christ 
that Christ was more than human, and that what proved true in 
His case may not occur in the cases of inferior beings. Those 
who believe the words of Christ concerning the life which He 
promised to give to all who accept Him as their Saviour will 
not be disturbed by this objection. It is merely noted because 
at this stage of the inquiry we have to do with matters of fact 
rather than with those in which faith is the leading element. 

In the closing chapter of the Revelation the Apostle John 
tells of his interview with an angel whom he was about to wor¬ 
ship, but who assured him that, instead of a divine being, as the 
apostle had supposed, he was a fellow servant with all who obey 


252 LIFE TRIUMPHANT 

the commands of God. There is nothing to indicate the iden- 
The feiiow servant tity of this person, but it is probable that previous 
with John. to this interview he had lived upon the earth in 
human form. 

The evidence which has been deduced from the Scriptures 
must prove convincing to all who admit the credibility and 
ne evidence of authority of these writings. The incidents are 
scripture. clearly narrated and the facts are definitely stated. 
They are open to only one form of interpretation. They leave 
no room for doubt that the life of the soul continues after the 
body which it once had inhabited has crumbled into dust. 

There is a large class of people who believe that the spiritual¬ 
istic phenomena and manifestations of modern times prove that 
The claims of the soul does not perish with the body. The claim 
spiritualists. j s mac ie that a great many persons living upon the 
earth have occasional communications from their departed rela¬ 
tives and friends. It is also asserted that a person with special 
gifts, who is sometimes described as a psychic, or more fre¬ 
quently as a medium, can enable the living and the dead to con¬ 
verse with each other. Some go even farther than this, and 
hold that without the intervention of another person they can 
have real communion with the spirits of dear ones who have 
been called away from this world. But more frequently the 
message from the unseen realm is delivered by some person 
whose services have been requested by the one who desires to 
learn the condition of friends who have departed this life. If 
these claims could be substantiated, and proof that the alleged 
communications are real, and not imaginary, could be supplied, 
the evidence that there is a future life for the soul would be 
complete. The doctrine of the immortality of the individual 
would not be proved, but the evidence in its favor which has 
already been noted would be materially strengthened. 

No honest and intelligent investigator will deny that many 
of the phenomena which are classed as spiritualistic manifesta- 
wonderfui phe- tions are really wonderful. Neither will he doubt 
nomena. that a large number of psychics are thoroughly con¬ 

scientious. But before he has pursued his inquiries very far, he 
will be fully convinced that many of the alleged performances 
are fraudulent and that a large number of mediums are impos¬ 
tors. Of the latter not a few are vile in character and outra- 


ENDLESS EXISTENCE 


253 

geous in conduct. Their methods have often been exposed. 
Deception, cunning, and unlimited pretension form their stock 
in trade. They have been as strongly denounced by reputable 
mediums as they have been by people who believe that all who 
profess to hold communication with departed spirits are unwor¬ 
thy of confidence. The claims of such parties are not entitled 
to the slightest degree of consideration. 

Yet, after all due allowance has been made for intentional 
deception, for errors in judgment, and for mistakes in observa¬ 
tion, there are still many things pertaining to these manifesta¬ 
tions which are marvelous in themselves and for which natural 
science has not been able to furnish an adequate explanation. 

Cases in which psychics have moved tables without touch¬ 
ing them with any portion of their material bodies, and have, 
when completely blindfolded, read sealed letters regarding the 
contents of which they had no previous knowledge, have become 
too common to cause any great degree of surprise. While in 
the trance state mediums have often displayed intellectual 
powers of which they were not conscious, or at least which they 
could not command while in their normal condition. It is not 
unusual for a medium to tell a visitor, who may be an entire 
stranger, many things which occurred long ago and of which he 
had not thought for years. The names of his relatives who 
have died, and perhaps the dates upon which they passed away, 
may be correctly stated, though the medium never knew any 
member of the family and was never acquainted with any one 
who could have furnished the information. 

Then, too, there are exhibitions of still more remarkable phy¬ 
sical powers than those which have been noted, and which, like 
the others, are said to be due to the aid of spiritual beings. But, 
so far as the purposes of this work are concerned, by much the 
most important claim of the medium is that of placing the liv¬ 
ing and the dead in direct communication. It is asserted that 
the departed can and often do inform their friends, through the 
agency of the psychic, where they are, and describe with more 
or less of detail the conditions of the new existence. In many 
cases, however, the medium merely claims to see the departed 
and describe the home and the mental state of the soul, but does 
not profess to deliver messages from the spirit world. 

Many of the phenomena attending both the physical and the 


254 LIFE TRIUMPHANT 

psychical exhibitions of some of the more noted mediums are 
almost too wonderful for belief. They startle the 

Not necessarily . r . . . . . 

due to the agency inquirer, and in not a few instances they lead to the 
immediate acceptance of all the claims of what is 
known as modern spiritualism. But while the genuineness of 
many of the cases which are cited as proof that the claims which 
are made in behalf of this system of belief is not to be ques¬ 
tioned, and the honesty of many mediums is fully admitted, it 
does not follow that the phenomena are, either wholly or in part, 
due to the activity of the spirits of men who have inhabited this 
world. If spiritual agency were admitted, it would still be possi¬ 
ble for the power to be exerted by other spirits than those which 
had ever lived in the human form. 

In another section the subject of communication with de¬ 
parted friends will be considered. It is intensely interesting in 
itself, and cannot properly be omitted from any extended inquiry 
regarding the condition of the dead, but in its bearing upon the 
question of the immortality of the soul it is only of minor impor¬ 
tance. We do not need to see air, or heat, or electricity, to know 
that they exist. We do not need to see, or to have communica¬ 
tion with, our friends in the other world to be reasonably sure 
that they retain life and consciousness. Concerning spiritual 
existence we have evidences of a higher nature than those which 
are furnished by the physical senses. 

The importance of man in the scale of being makes it highly 
probable that he will not cease to exist at death. He is at the 
The dignity of head of creation. The animal world is subject to 
man ' his control. Wherever he cultivates the ground, the 

vegetable kingdom is brought under his sway. The forces of 
nature have been impressed into his service. By his mechanical 
inventions he has to a great extent overcome the barriers which 
time and space have offered to the accomplishment of his pur¬ 
poses. He crosses oceans as though they were but narrow 
streams, and causes the lightning to carry his messages to all 
parts of the earth. His triumphs in these and similar directions 
have been marvelous, and there is reason to suppose that he has 
as yet only commenced the conquest of a realm in which he is 
to have almost unlimited dominion. In power and in kind man 
is a greatly superior being. It is incredible that he should perish 
like the creatures and the things over which he now has control. 


ENDLESS EXISTENCE 


255 

The character of the intellectual powers of man makes it very 
probable that he will survive the event of death. In all of the 
period of his active life he is constantly looking for- prides for the 
ward to something different and, he hopes, better future ‘ 
than the present condition. He is continually planning for next 
week, or next year, or some more distant time. The boy longs 
for the enjoyments which come with the opening of manhood. 
The young man desires to establish a home, and to enter the 
sphere of active life. When a later stage is reached, the plans 
have to do with his declining days. This is a strong indication 
that there is something awaiting the soul beyond this world. If 
God had made man only for the present, He would doubtless 
have made him, in this respect, as He made the beast of the 
field. In the animal world there is but little care for the future. 
If present desires are satisfied, all is well. But man cannot be 
contented with this. Thought passes from stage to stage of the 
present life and projects itself far beyond the bounds of time. 
Man has an intuitive desire to provide for a life to come. 

His eager pursuit of knowledge is another indication that 
man has been designed for a broader field of action than this 
world affords. If he succeeds in solving one diffi- intellectual 
cult problem, he immediately commences the study P r °9 ress - 
of another. He presses on, regardless of difficulties. The far¬ 
ther he penetrates into the secrets of nature, the more anxious 
he becomes to solve the mysteries which still remain. And the 
more he learns, the broader the field of possible knowledge ap¬ 
pears, and the smaller is the estimate which he places upon the 
sum of his acquisitions. Newton, whose intellect was of the 
highest order and whose discoveries gave him immortal fame, 
said: “ I do not know what I may appear to the world; but to 
myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the sea¬ 
shore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother 
pebble, or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean 
of truth lay all undiscovered before me.” Laplace, the famous 
mathematician and astronomer, is on record as saying that 
“ What we know is inconsiderable; what we do not know is 
immeasurable.” 

Many other men of brilliant intellect and great achievement 
have given similar testimony concerning themselves. Great as 
their accomplishments have been, these men have realized that 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


256 

all they had done amounted only to the partial exploration of 
the merest border of a vast field of knowledge. The fact that 
God has given to man such great powers of mind, and such a 
limitless field for their exercise here, must be regarded as a very 
strong intimation that there is something in reserve for the soul 
in another world. 

It is a trite saying that man is never satisfied. Even under 
the most favorable conditions he is in a state of unrest. He 
never reaches the limit of his desires. If he makes 
wealth the great object of his life, he finds, after it is 
secured, that it does not satisfy the longings of his heart. His 
success may exceed the wildest dreams of his youth, and yet he 
finds that in his inmost nature there are cravings which no 
amount of money and no degree of luxury can satisfy. If he 
strives for fame, or power, or any of the other objects of worldly 
ambition, he finds, when success is attained, that deep down in 
his heart there is a feeling that the real good has not been 
secured. He is still dissatisfied. 

The brief but expressive comment upon life, “ Vanity of vani¬ 
ties, all is vanity,” which has come as a despairing wail down 
the centuries, and which will be heard until the end of time, was 
not made by a man who had failed to win the prizes and enjoy 
the pleasures of the world. Neither was it the petulant excla¬ 
mation of one who was irritated by some unusual occurrence 
and who would soon regain his accustomed cheerfulness. It 
was the expression of the sober judgment of a man of brilliant 
intellect, whose portion from his early years had been glory, and 
honor, and wealth, and power. Solomon did not complain of 
the difficulty of obtaining the things which he desired. He had 
all the earthly blessings that heart could wish. Yet all the lux¬ 
ury and splendor amid which he lived could not satisfy the 
longings of his soul. 

So it is, and so it will be, wherever man is found. He will 
never be satisfied with the things of earth. Multitudes suffer 
the keenest disappointment because they cannot obtain the 
things for which they strive. And multitudes of others are 
equally disappointed because the things for which they have 
labored so hard fail to give the happiness which it was supposed 
that their possession would bestow. 

This dissatisfaction with the things of this world is a part of 


THE VILLAGE OF EN-DOR 












. 



















ENDLESS EXISTENCE 


25 7 

the nature of man. His instincts are higher than those of earth. 
He was not made to find perfect contentment in this world. 
One of the great philosophers has declared that man “ is not so 
constituted as to rest and be satisfied in any possession or enjoy¬ 
ment whatsoever.” He cannot, like the animal, be made happy 
by a favorable environment. It is not sufficient that he has 
everything that is necessary for his physical comfort. He has a 
deeper nature than that which has to do with outward things, 
and this nature must have something higher and nobler than 
the visible and the material in which to rest. This is a strong 
evidence that life does not end in this world. For if God had 
not designed that man should have a future existence, He surely 
would not have implanted in his soul this inextinguishable long¬ 
ing for something better than earth can give. 

Then, too, there are certain elements of character which indi¬ 
cate that the existence of man is not to be limited to the present 
life. Patriotism, heroism, and self-sacrifice are qual¬ 
ities which are not subject to natural laws and which 
cannot be gauged by material standards. It is incredible that 
the man who will suffer martyrdom rather than yield an iota of 
what he believes to be the truth should perish like an ownerless 
dog. The patriot who places his life at the disposal of his 
country, and the man who cheerfully sacrifices himself in order 
to save his fellows, exhibit qualities which are far above any¬ 
thing which pertains only to the earth. The beast will fight 
for its young, but will witness the slaughter of its companions 
unmoved. Man not only braves danger for those of his own 
household, but he toils for the ignorant, fights for the oppressed, 
and even lays down his life for the sake of people whom he has 
never seen. The men who have sacrificed themselves for the 
uplifting of our common humanity form an innumerable host. 
We cannot believe that they have perished. Such characters 
as theirs are not to be reduced to dust. 

In the quiet walks of life, unknown to the world, there are 
millions of men, and women, and children who day by day are 
waging the conflict of life with as true a heroism as ever soldier 
displayed upon the battlefield. Fathers toil long and hard for 
their families, weary and careworn mothers sacrifice themselves 
for their children, and many a child works early and late to aid 
the parents in maintaining the home. And in city and country, 
17 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


258 

especially among the poor who are not able to provide for them¬ 
selves the comforts which the rich can secure, the kindly minis¬ 
trations of neighbors and friends to the sick and the unfortunate 
speak of the possession of something which our higher natures 
assure us ought not to perish with the body. 

The same characteristics are also exhibited by many to whom 
fortune has been more favorable. The endowment of hospitals 
for the sick and the injured; the gifts to institutions which have 
been established for the physical, mental, and moral betterment 
of the poor and the discouraged; and, in multitudes of cases, 
the kindly personal ministrations, as well as the substantial aid 
bestowed upon the needy, are standing proofs that the qualities 
of human nature are not dependent upon outward circum¬ 
stances or conditions. There is that in the human heart which 
responds to the call of distress, which leads to the sacrifice of 
self for the benefit of others, which is above the physical nature, 
and which it is impossible to suppose that God would bestow 
upon creatures for whom He had made no provision beyond 
that of the little measure of this earthly life. 

The fact that in all ages man has had an instinctive and a 
persistent desire to worship a being higher than himself is 
another evidence that his soul is immortal. We 
know that various other instincts have their uses, 
and we are justified in believing that this, too, has some wise 
and beneficent purpose. Its presence cannot be accounted for 
on the ground that it is of an animal nature. There is no trace 
of it among the beasts. It is entirely foreign to their habits, 
and greatly above their capacities. If man were nothing but 
an animal, he could not have the aspirations for a higher and 
purer life which so often stir the minds and hearts of the human 
race. The longing for communion with God, which has formed 
one of the purest and noblest sentiments of the good in all ages, 
can have no adequate explanation if man is to perish at death. 

Still another indication of the immortality of the soul is found 
in the possession by man of the moral sense called conscience. 

This mysterious faculty, silently, but forcibly and 

Conscience. . J J y 

persistently, reminds man that he is responsible for 
his conduct, and leads him to look forward to a time upon which 
his whole earthly career will be thoroughly reviewed by a Being 
who has power to reward the good and punish the wicked. 


ENDLESS EXISTENCE 


259 

The constant call to duty, the sharp reprimands of this vigilant 
monitor when a great wrong has been done, the earnest efforts 
to find plausible excuses for conduct which, though not regarded 
as criminal, has not been in strict accordance with the standards 
of right living, and the only half-concealed fear of the wicked 
that, however they may prosper here and now, it will not be well 
with them when they have come under the dominion of death, 
— all point in one direction. They tell of a life beyond the 
tomb. 

The power of conscience and the fear of retribution cannot 
be classed with superstitions or charged to ignorance. They 
move the higher nations as well as those which are lower in the 
scale of civilization, and influence the individuals who have 
made the greatest attainments in knowledge and in virtue as 
truly, and even more forcibly, than they do the ignorant and the 
degraded. They are inseparable from the nature of man; and 
the conclusion is reasonable, it may almost be said to be neces¬ 
sary, that the God who made man, and who placed within him 
this moral guide, had reference to something which, in duration 
and importance, far transcends the things of earth. 

The natural sense of justice in the minds of men calls for a 
continuance of existence after death. Much of the evil which 
prevails in this world goes unpunished. Might tri- A demand of 
umphs over right. The innocent often suffer with Justice ‘ 
the guilty, and not infrequently instead of the guilty. When it 
is administered in its purest form, human law cannot give even- 
handed justice to all who are nominally under its protection. 
Innumerable cases of wrong are never brought to the attention 
of human courts. And in numberless cases in which the law is 
invoked, the witnesses are not all truthful, and the evidence is 
so conflicting that a just decision cannot be obtained. There 
are also the common limitations of humanity, which often pre¬ 
vent judges and juries from making proper decisions, even when 
there is an earnest desire to be strictly impartial. Then, too, 
the use of money, or of influence, often secures the release of 
an offender who richly deserves to be kept in confinement 
In both civil and criminal cases law and justice often widely 
diverge. 

It is a notorious fact that large numbers of men who break 
the laws of the land in which they live are never brought to 


26 o 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


account. The Divine law, too, is constantly being trampled 
upon by multitudes. If there is no future life there will be no 
means of bringing these violators of law to justice. The prac¬ 
tical effect of such an order of things is to put a premium upon 
wickedness. The man who succeeds by means of force or fraud 
is left free to enjoy what he has wrongfully obtained. The man 
who sacrifices himself for the benefit of others meets the same 
fate as the one who sacrifices the interests of others to his own 
advancement. No matter how wicked a man may be, if he 
succeeds in escaping punishment here he will never be made to 
suffer for his iniquity. If there is no hereafter, laws are of small 
account; and the idea of justice is altogether out of place in the 
human mind. 

There is something in man which resents such a condition. 
His sense of justice cries out against it. In his inmost soul 
there is a conviction that wickedness ought to be punished, that 
there should be an ample justification of those who have been 
wrongfully accused, and that there should be reparation for 
those who have been outrageously injured. If there is to be no 
future existence, the whole plan of this life is wrong. The cur¬ 
rent sets toward evil, and the evil is not only self-perpetuating 
but it becomes more malignant as its tide rolls on. 

It does not answer this argument for a future life to say, as 
some do, that good should be sought for its own sake, that a 
righteous life is happier than a wicked life, and that 

Natural conse- ° , . . 

quences of good to some extent sin inflicts its own penalty. All this 
only touches the merest surface of the matter. The 
great majority of men in civilized lands believe that, in addition 
to what comes to man here, there will be rewards for the good 
and punishments for the wicked hereafter. Yet, with this im¬ 
mensely greater incentive than those have who believe only in 
the present life, they fall far short of the perfect character which 
God requires. Take away all hope of reward and all fear of 
punishment in the future, and the standard of morality would 
fall to a very low point. The glaring injustice of such moral 
conditions would quench all desires for a better life which other¬ 
wise might be cherished and strengthened. 

The doctrine of rewards and punishments runs through the 
Bible from Genesis to Revelation. And in many places it is 
shown that the doctrine is founded upon pure and simple justice. 


ENDLESS EXISTENCE 


26l 


Favoritism is wholly excluded. Man has the power to choose 
either the right or the wrong. With that power God 

J . r , . ° r ... The Scripture doe- 

does not mtertere, but there can be no mistake in trine of rewards 
respect to the manner in which He will deal with and pun,ahment8 - 
men after their choice has been irrevocably made. He assures 
all who have His word that “it shall not be well with the 
wicked.” In many passages there is a still more emphatic state¬ 
ment. “Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him,” is one 
of a multitude of warnings of a similar import. And in the 
closing book of the Old Testament it is said that the terrible 
judgment of God shall fall upon the wicked, while his rich bless¬ 
ing shall rest upon the righteous. In the New Testament the 
same truths are stated again and again in the most impressive 
manner, and without the slightest lessening of the threatened 
penalty of sin. 

There are some who tell us that the hope of reward and the 
fear of punishment are unworthy motives. It is admitted that 
they are not the highest considerations. But God has seen fit 
to bring them very prominently to the attention of men, and to 
present them as great inducements to avoid evil and to do right. 
It is not for man to question His wisdom. He has promised 
that adequate rewards shall be bestowed upon the good and 
suitable punishments inflicted upon the wicked. Looking at 
human life from the earthly standpoint, we see that neither the 
promise nor the threatening is fulfilled. If the Scriptures are 
true, and justice is to prevail, there must be a future state of 
existence in which this stupendous failure of moral adjustment 
shall be rectified. 

If there is no hereafter, the world has gone wrong from the 
day in which death first came to man, and it will continue to go 
wrong until the last member of the human race has , 

0 T-,.. . , ... A great failure. 

perished from the earth. Eliminate the future life 
of humanity, and the right can never prevail. The traitor will 
secure the reward of his iniquity, and the Master will hang upon 
the cross. The faithful soldier may suffer for years from wounds 
received in the service, while the coward who avoids the place 
of danger may escape all harm. The man who gives his time 
and strength for the service of others merely throws himself 
away. The good and the brave are losers; the evil and the 
weak are the real winners in the conflict of life. 


262 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


Such an outcome would be a gigantic wrong. It is utterly 
impossible in a universe that is under kindly and intelligent 
direction. Justice sternly demands a future life for man. If we 
once admit that there is a God who rules the world, and that 
God is good, we are compelled to believe that there is a bound¬ 
less existence in reserve for the human soul. 

In all that concerns humanity there is an element of mystery. 
Read in the light of this world only, the history of the race is 
The solution of a riddle the meaning of which no man can guess. 
mysteries. Studied merely with respect to the present, current 
events cannot be explained. What in this regard is true of 
mankind in general is also true of individuals. Probably every 
human life has its mystery. In cases without number, the 
mystery is also a tragedy. In many instances the trouble is 
hidden in the heart, and the most intimate friend hardly knows 
of its existence. In a larger number the nature of the affliction 
is apparent to all with whom the person has to do. One man is 
born blind. Another is the victim of an accident which makes 
him a cripple for life. Misfortunes of various kinds pursue 
many others through all their active years. Weakness and a 
tendency to disease are a large part of the inheritance of others. 
The list of evils from which men suffer is almost endless, and, 
in one form or another, almost every man is a sufferer. We 
look for a reason for the prevalence of these ills. We seek a 
cause that shall justify these conditions. But neither reason 
nor justification for them can be found on this side of the grave. 

There are those who tell us that misfortunes are good for 
men, that they are needed to make strong characters, and that 
Misfortunes th e y are ver y best of agencies for spurring man 
on to high endeavor and great achievement. But, 
as a rule, those who hold this doctrine either speak from obser¬ 
vation rather than from experience, or else they look far into 
the future. If they have reference only to the present, these 
trials are great evils. Instead of aiding man in the accomplish¬ 
ment of his plans and purposes, they retard his progress and 
often prove insuperable obstacles to success. 

So far as this world is concerned, it is not an advantage to any 
man to be blind, or crippled, or diseased, or unfortunate. And 
the men who have much to say about the sweet uses of adversity 
are usually very careful to avoid coming into close personal rela- 


ENDLESS EXISTENCE 


263 

tions with this means of good. They believe, or think they 
believe, that suffering is a benefit to other people, but they have 
no desire to become sufferers themselves. They claim that what 
the world calls misfortunes are really advantages, but in their 
own efforts to succeed they seek an altogether different kind of 
assistance. 

Unless we look beyond this world, the theory which these men 
hold is all wrong. The disasters of life are not means of advance¬ 
ment. Disappointment and pain are not “ blessings The theory 
in disguise,” or in any other form. Within the range wrong - 
of the earthly horizon, no explanation of the prevalence of sin 
and misery can be given. If man is to perish when he dies, he 
deserves a happier life than he can have in this world. 

There are some who would make either the victim of misfor¬ 
tune or his ancestors responsible for the troubles which he is 
obliged to encounter, Those who believe in the doctrine of the 
transmigration of souls find the cause of human misery in the 
evil deeds which the individual performed in some previous state 
of existence. But in order to obtain any light from this source 
we are compelled to admit that there is a life, of some kind, 
beyond the grave. Those who hold that man inherits evil from 
his progenitors are shut up to one of two conclusions. Either 
there is a future life in which the evil which comes to man 
through no fault of his own will be remedied, or else the present 
government of the world is unjust. 

Everywhere we see evidences that men are not treated in this 
world according to their deserts. The victims of accidents for 
which they were in no wise responsible, the men who 

J A Great inequalities. 

inherit a tendency to disease, and those who, as the 
effect of any one of a great number of causes, are neither strong 
nor capable of becoming strong, are outstripped in the race of 
life by men who, as far as moral worth is concerned, are far less 
deserving of success. It does not, in all cases, explain the mat¬ 
ter to say that the men who fail are not as efficient as are those 
who succeed. Some, it is true, do not deserve success. But 
there are numberless cases in which men fail because they have 
not the physical or the mental power that must be put forth if 
success is to be secured. 

Suppose, as some assert, that these worthy but unsuccessful 
men are inefficient or incompetent. The questions at once arise, 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


264 

Why are they not as efficient and as competent as other people ? 
Who made them to differ from those who are more capable ? 
If we believe that all that occurs is under kindly and intelligent 
' direction, we must conclude that, for some wise reason, He 
who rules in the affairs of individuals as truly as He controls the 
vast forces of the universe has given to some of His children 
qualities which he has withheld from others. He has made it 
easy for some to do what many others find it impossible to 
accomplish. 

If the earthly life is the only existence that man is to have; if 
all the good he is ever to receive must be secured here and now, 
there is a great mystery in the manner in which the blessings of 
this world are distributed. If judgment were based upon the 
degree of success which they secure, we should be obliged to 
admit that some of the most wicked of men have been the spe¬ 
cial favorites of God, while many who have lived pure and noble 
lives have been the objects of His deepest displeasure. Such a 
conclusion would be an outrage both upon piety and common 
sense. The only reasonable solution of the mystery of this 
inequality is to be found in the fact that there is to be a future 
life of the soul. 

There is a still darker problem which demands our attention. 
In the slums of great cities, and in the neglected portions of 
a bad environ- towns and rural settlements, a great number of chil- 
ment dren are born, who from their earliest days are sur¬ 

rounded by influences which constantly and powerfully tend to 
lead them into vice and crime. By the natural process of moral 
gravitation they go from bad to worse. Their tendencies, for 
which they are not to blame, are evil. Their surroundings, for 
which in their earlier years they are in nowise responsible, they 
cannot change until one of the principal periods in which 
character is formed has been passed. During their most sus¬ 
ceptible years they breathe an atmosphere of sin. The virus of 
iniquity courses in their blood. When they reach an age at 
which they are thrown upon their own resources, their natural 
tendencies have become so fully developed, and have been so 
greatly strengthened by the precepts and examples of those by 
whom they have been trained and companions with whom they 
have associated, that they are fully prepared to enter a criminal 
career. Some resist the temptations to which they are exposed, 


ENDLESS EXISTENCE 


265 

and others are sought out by societies or individuals and placed 
under better conditions. Thus many, in all, become respectable 
and useful people. But there are many others who are born, 
and whose early days are spent, under such untoward conditions, 
to whom life is an unbroken term of ever increasing degradation. 
Such cases as these are profoundly sad. They are involved in 
a mystery for which no solution can be found in anything which 
is limited to the present life. 

Then there is the great mystery of pain. There is an appall¬ 
ing amount of physical distress in the world. The stinging cold 
of winter and the torturing heat of summer bring The mystery of 
unmeasurable misery to hundreds of thousands of 8Uffering ‘ 
the poor, and great discomfort to multitudes of people who are 
able to protect themselves to a considerable degree from the 
natural effects of these extremes of temperature. Accident or 
sickness brings to almost every one, and at many times, in the 
course of this earthly life, pain and weariness which are terribly 
hard to bear. All ages, all classes, and all conditions of men 
are subject to physical pain. 

In the great mental realm there is, perhaps, a still larger 
amount, and a severer kind, of suffering than man is called to 
endure through the medium of his physical frame. Solicitude 
for relatives or friends who have been injured by accident or 
stricken by disease; apprehension regarding loved ones who are 
in circumstances of danger or distress, or who may be straying 
from the path of right; anxiety concerning what the future may 
bring; and care and fear as to many other things with which 
we all have to do, cause an amount of suffering which cannot be 
indicated by any terms which language can supply. Add to this 
the ceaseless and unspeakable sorrow for the dead which prevails 
wherever man is found, and we have an immensity of tribulation 
which only an infinite mind can comprehend. 

A vast amount of misery also comes to man through the 
disappointments of life. Men work long and hard for things 
which they fail to obtain, or which prove unsatisfying if they 
are secured. The young man who hopes to obtain an education 
is obliged to give his attention to something which will bring 
more immediate financial returns. Or perhaps he gives his 
affections to one who rejects them or proves unworthy of them. 
The young woman gives her happiness into the keeping of a 
17 * 


266 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


man who makes her life miserable. Often parents are dis¬ 
appointed in their children, and friends find that some whom 
they have loved do not come up to their high ideals. In other 
ways, almost without number, trial and trouble and disappoint¬ 
ment come to the children of men. 

The attempt which has often been made to explain this great 
mystery of human suffering by its effect upon character is a 
An insufficient dismal failure. It is true that the character of the 
explanation. sufferer is greatly modified by the painful expe¬ 
riences of life, but it is not always changed for the better. In 
many cases it is made a great deal worse. The tribulation 
which softens the hearts of some men hardens the hearts of 
others. But even if it did, in all cases, tend to make men 
better, the end would hardly justify the means if life does not 
continue beyond this world. If this life is all they are to have, 
men should strive to be happy, and it is fair to suppose that the 
universe would have been so constituted that they could find 
happiness here. The restless longing for something higher 
than the world can supply clearly indicates that life in this 
world is not the end of existence, but is merely a preparation for 
a better state of being elsewhere. 

Besides, the unequal distribution of suffering cannot be recon¬ 
ciled with the theory that it is designed merely to profit the 
sufferer in the present world. An incalculable amount of pain 
comes to infants who do not live here long enough to receive 
benefit from its discipline. And many persons whose characters 
are pure and noble are great sufferers, while others, who are 
evidently in need of some kind of training if they are ever to be 
of use in this or any other world, spend their days in compara¬ 
tive comfort. So, while some suffer out of all proportion to the 
benefit which can come to them here through the agency of 
pain and sorrow, others escape a large part of the tribulations 
which are said, by some, to be required for the proper develop¬ 
ment of character. 

An eminent writer has suggested the principle of vicarious¬ 
ness as a partial explanation of the “ overplus of suffering ” which 
vicarious many people are called to endure. This excess of 

suffering. jq J s not f or b ene f[t 0 f £] ie su ff e rer, but for the 

good of those who witness its patient endurance. “ The effect 
of such suffering, which remains in the softening of sympathy 


ENDLESS EXISTENCE 


267 

and the enlargement of heart of some witnesses of it, may have 
vicarious worth long after the man or the woman, who was 
anointed to be an example of such patience, may have outlived 
and forgotten all pain in the happy freedom of the other world .” 1 

This view may be of aid to the sufferer, and of comfort to 
those who look on in helpless sympathy, provided the idea of 
the possibility of a future life has developed into a firm convic¬ 
tion. If the soul is immortal, such suffering may have its com¬ 
pensations, and it is undoubtedly ordered in wisdom and in love. 
But if death ends all, not only this excess of suffering, but all 
suffering which does not come as the result of violation of some 
natural law which is known to the sufferer must remain one of 
the deepest mysteries which the human mind has ever attempted 
to unravel. 

The fact that nothing which approaches a justification for the 
suffering which prevails in the world can be found in what per¬ 
tains to this life warrants the hope and the expecta- Anot hernfe 
tion that there is to be another state of existence. P robable - 
It indicates an immortal life of the soul. And we can rest 
assured that in the life to come the mystery of suffering will be 
clearly revealed. For God is good, and being good He must 
justify His dealings with the creatures who are dependent upon 
Him. However severe His discipline may seem to us now, it is 
certainly guided and measured by the tenderest love. Believing 
this we can, through all the pain and disappointments and dis¬ 
asters and afflictions of life, rest confidingly in Him. 

“ For the Lord will not cast off forever. 

For though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude 
of his mercies. 

For he doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men.” 

The clouds of earth will never darken the sky of heaven. The 
compassion of God will be manifested to all who have held their 
faith in Him, and the reasons for the fiery trials through which 
they they were called to pass while on the earth will be ex¬ 
plained. In the glorious light of eternity the dark mysteries of 
time will forever disappear. 

An immortal life of the soul appears to be necessary in order 
to insure the fulfillment of the evident purpose of God in the 
creation of man. Whatever view we may take as to the pro- 

1 Newman Smyth, D. D., The Place of Death in Evolution . 


268 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


cesses attending his introduction into the world, it is certain 
preparations and that vast preparations were made for his coming. It 
endowments. matters not whether he is the child of God by virtue 
of a single creative act, or whether he has reached his present 
stage by ascending, through untold ages, from lower forms of 
existence. In either case it is true that he is the crowning work 
of the creation, and that the world itself, with all of its vast 
resources, was formed and perfected for his use and pleasure. 

In view of all the great preparations which have been made 
for his coming, and for his comfort and progress while here, it 
seems incredible that the return of his physical frame to dust 
should mark the extinction of his being. Such a vast outlay 
demands a far greater return than this. Viewed merely from 
the standpoint of utility it is plain that such an outcome would 
cause an enormous waste. We cannot believe that such mas¬ 
sive foundations would be laid for such an insignificant super¬ 
structure. 

Not only this, but the mental and spiritual endowments of 
man are altogether out of proportion to his needs if he is to 
perish at death. In the brief time that is allotted to him here 
he hardly becomes qualified to use the talents with which he has 
been intrusted. He must spend most of his life in gaining the 
knowledge and experience which he needs in order to enable 
him to live well and to work efficiently. He hardly gains con¬ 
trol of his powers before he is called to leave the world. 

Coming at this stage of his existence, death, if it is not to be 
followed by life, is unutterably cruel and wasteful. “ It is sad 
Destruction of be- that man should perish, and perish just when he has 
ing involves waste. reac h ec i his prime.” 1 It is not reasonable to sup¬ 
pose that man does perish when he reaches this point. He was 
evidently made for something higher and more enduring. It is 
not consistent with a wise ordering of things that he should 
drop out of existence just when he has become able to do the 
best work of which he has ever been capable. 

The man who has had the greatest advantages, who has made 
t the most of his opportunities, and whose life has 

Life here too brief L L 

forjuu devetop- been prolonged far beyond the ordinary term of 
human existence, has hardly more than commenced 
the development of his intellectual and spiritual capacities. This, 

1 Professor Goldwin Smith, Guesses at the Riddle of Existence. 


ENDLESS EXISTENCE 


269 

indeed, would be true if he remained here indefinitely. For 
each new conquest would give him power for still greater achieve¬ 
ment. God has endowed him with possibilities which can only 
be perfected in the boundless range of an immortal life. 

The longest life upon earth, even when its opportunities are 
improved, only suffices for a beginning of the work for the per¬ 
formance of which the soul was endowed. But there Less complete 
are very few lives which approach completion, even liues ‘ 
as it is gauged by human standards. The vast majority of those 
who come into the world fall by the way long before the natural 
limit of life is reached. Children die just as they are develop¬ 
ing the qualities of mind and heart which make them attractive, 
and which give promise of usefulness. Young men and young 
women are called away while earnestly seeking to advance the 
kingdom of God in the world. The father, who is needed to 
maintain the home; or the mother, who seemed to have a great 
work to do for her children ; the pastor, or the missionary, who 
has spent long years to qualify himself to preach the Gospel; 
the physician, or one who has chosen some other profession, who 
has just commenced to serve his fellows; and the man who 
labors in a humbler sphere, but with equal earnestness and sin¬ 
cerity, are called away while in the very beginning of their use¬ 
fulness. We cannot believe that the purpose for which God 
created them has been fully served. It cannot be that their 
course is finished, that their work is done. Such incomplete 
lives are witnesses to the necessity of an immortal existence of 
the human soul. We begin to live here, we must continue to 
live hereafter. Holding this view of life, the great scholar and 
preacher, Theodore Monod, desired to have inscribed upon his 
tombstone the simple but expressive statement: “ Here endeth 
the first lesson.” 

The continuance of life far beyond the present scene of its 
manifestation is needed in order to furnish compensations which 
the moral sense of mankind insists are due to those offers needed 
who have been the victims of injustice, or who have com P ensa ' Jons - 
failed to receive an adequate reward for unselfish services to their 
fellow men. It does not refute this claim for a future life to say 
that God allots to each individual what is best, and that we have 
no right to question His wisdom. If we are to have a future 
existence, in which there shall be suitable compensations for the 


270 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


ills of the present life, we can admit that good may be brought 
out of evil, that all wrongs may be righted, and that everything 
has been ordered wisely and well. 

If we limit human existence to the present life we cannot hold 
any such belief. We cannot see that things are “ all for the 
mnga not right best.” The claim that they are just as they should 
here ‘ be, and that man should cheerfully accept, as com¬ 

ing from God, whatever befalls him here, is persistently made by 
not a few of the wicked who glory in their wickedness. It is 
an argument which has been used for ages by those who have 
oppressed their fellows. Tyranny, and injustice, and imposi¬ 
tion have all been supported by the plea that “ whatever is, is 
right,” and to those who have suffered, the mocking consolation 
has been offered that a kind and loving Father has brought 
these evils upon them. This world offers no redress. A future 
life is required in order to sustain the claim that the law of love 
is the law of the universe. 

There are many who, without having suffered any direct in¬ 
justice from their fellow men, have rendered services for which 
inadequate they have received no adequate reward. To such 
rewards. as th ese something in the way of compensation 
seems to be due. In this world there can be no proper recogni¬ 
tion of the deeds performed. There must be another life if full 
acknowledgment is ever to be made. 

It is not enough to say that the sweet consciousness of duty 
performed is all that is to be expected. We could be satisfied 
with it ourselves, but we instinctively feel that it is not all that 
other people should receive. The martyr who dies for the truth 
is doubtless sustained by a good conscience and a lofty faith, but 
if there is no hereafter he is very inadequately rewarded for the 
pains of martyrdom and the loss of life. Neither would the 
recompense be sufficient to sustain the family that is obliged to 
struggle on without its natural protector. The patriot who dies 
in the service of his country has a certain kind of reward in the 
feeling that he has done his duty; but if he perishes at death the 
reward is small compared with the loss of his life and himself. 

The mother who wears out her life in caring for her sick child 
may be sustained by the love in her own heart, and by the hope 
that in later years there will be some return of love and care. 
This gives a partial, but certainly not a full, reward. Then, too, 


ENDLESS EXISTENCE 


271 

there are many cases in which health is sacrificed and life is 
shortened by devotion to the aged, who, on account of extreme 
feebleness of body and mind, can never, in this world, make 
any return for the kindness which they receive. And there 
are many other ways in which self is sacrificed to duty. The 
familiar case of Charles Lamb, who gave up his plans and pro¬ 
spects of a happy home with the woman of his choice in order 
that he might properly care for his afflicted sister is only one 
of numberless pathetic instances of the sacrifice of self for the 
benefit of others. 

These noble examples of self-sacrifice are a blessing to the 
world. They give a glory to the earthly life which it otherwise 
could not have. Those who practice this virtue are helpful not 
only to those whom they directly serve, but also to all who learn 
of their kindly deeds. And it is freely admitted they are in 
some measure benefited themselves. But often the good which 
they receive is obtained at a fearful cost. The hopes of early 
years are disappointed. The plans of life are broken. The 
flower is blasted in the bud. All through life there will be a 
strain of sadness. The sunlight will not be wholly darkened, 
but a shadow will always be visible, and the thought of what 
“ might have been ” will bring an unutterable sadness to the 
soul. 

If this life is the end of human existence, all this generous 
effort will fail of its proper reward. And unless there is some¬ 
thin 2: beyond what is visible, somethin^; which per- 

. & J & r If this life is all. 

tains to a higher and a more enduring state than the 
present life, all who, through no fault of their own, are called to 
endure extreme suffering, make great sacrifices, meet keen dis¬ 
appointments, or fail in high endeavors, are in a pitiable condi¬ 
tion. When parents are called to mourn the loss of a son who 
was unspeakably dear to them, and upon whom they had com¬ 
menced to lean in their declining years; or a daughter, in whom 
their heartstrings were entwined, is called away; when a lover 
is snatched by death from the one to whom eternal devotion 
had been pledged; when parents are taken from children, bro¬ 
thers and sisters are separated, and friends are torn asunder 
by the grim destroyer of life, — the human heart cries out for 
something that shall compensate it for its incalculable loss. 
If we look only at the present world, all sources of consolation 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


272 

fail. The relentless mill of inevitable affliction which has 
crushed others to-day may crush us to-morrow, and its pitiless 
work will go on until the last human being has perished from 
the earth. 

We see men and women who are constantly on the altar of 
sacrifice. We cheer them for their heroic devotion, believing 
Nobtenoes deserve that God has called them and they have answered 
to be continued, ^he call. When they die we can but feel that some 
time and somewhere they will receive — what they have not 
had in this world — a full reward for all their toils and pains. 
As we stand by their graves we are confident that they have not 
perished. We are sure that — 

“ In the wreck of noble lives 
Something immortal still survives.” 

If any reader is inclined to say that this is a selfish view, and 
feels that man is not justified in hoping for anything in the way 
of compensation for suffering patiently endured and 

Not a selfish view. r P A ' . 

duty nobly performed, let him study the commands 
of God and see how, in both the Old and the New Testaments, the 
call to sacrifice and toil is united with the promise of rich com¬ 
pensation. Let him remember, too, that hosts of God’s children, 
from the earliest ages to the present day, have, in the midst of 
their trials and their toils, had in view a “ great recompense of 
reward.” The Apostle to the Gentiles was one of the most self- 
sacrificing of men, but he had much to say about the reward 
which he expected to receive, and which all others who toiled 
and suffered in like manner with himself also should obtain. 
And as he inquired what it should profit him that he had 
“ fought with beasts at Ephesus,” if there is no future life, so 
every other man may properly ask himself what gain he is to 
have if, after a life of conflict with self and sin, he is to pass out 
of existence at death. 

One of the principal reasons for accepting the doctrine of the 
immortality of the human soul is to be found in the character 
ne character of of God. This character is made known to us in His 
God ‘ works and His word. From these sources we learn 

that He is a Being of almighty power and infinite perfections. 
It is sure that His character must stand in a very certain and 
a very definite relation to His dealings with His creatures. If 
He has all power, and is infinitely wise and good, He must 



NEW “OLD SOUTH” CHURCH, BOSTON, MASS. 






























ENDLESS EXISTENCE 273 

exhibit these qualities in all that He directs and all that He 
permits in His dealings with men. 

We cannot regard the ever-present and ever-active God as an 
aimless being. The mighty energies which are incessantly 
flowing forth from Him are directed to the accom- The purposes of 
plishment of certain purposes which are clearly and God - 
constantly in His mind. These purposes are worthy of the 
efforts which are put forth for their fulfillment. There is a 
proper correspondence between what is attempted and what is 
performed. The plant, the tree, the bird, and the beast appear 
to answer, at least approximately, the purpose for which they 
were designed. We can suppose that God is satisfied with 
them. But unless w r e look beyond the present life we cannot 
have such a supposition regarding man. He falls very far short 
of what he evidently was intended to be and to do. 

In the vegetable and animal worlds a wonderful law of adjust¬ 
ment prevails. The plants of tropical regions are adapted to 
hot climates, while those of other zones are equally Adaptation to 
well fitted for the conditions under which they live. enuironment 
Animals that have their homes in almost desert regions are very 
different, in nature and in requirements, from those which live 
in fertile sections. The animals of the mountains are widely 
different from those which live in valleys or on the plains; and 
those which live in the water vary greatly in form and require¬ 
ments from those which remain upon the land. This adjust¬ 
ment to conditions, or environment as it is termed, is simply 
marvelous. So far as the vegetable and animal kingdoms are 
concerned, the means of supply of all great wants are obtained 
with comparative ease. Under the natural order of things the 
plant flourishes and the animal is contented. All that they need 
is found in this world. But this is very far from being the case 
with man. He has a nature that cannot be satisfied with the 
things of earth. His environment is too meagre to permit the 
development of his wonderful powers. This world cannot sup¬ 
ply his needs. 

In many places, and perhaps in all ages, there has been a feel¬ 
ing that man had a higher parentage than that of earth. Vari¬ 
ous traditions have represented him as descended God i8 our Father> 
from the gods. As intelligence has increased, this 
feeling has gained in strength. The poets and the philosophers 
18 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


274 

taught that man was the offspring of a being far greater and 
nobler than himself. 

This great truth, of which the outlines were dimly discerned 
by the unaided reason of man, has been emphatically stated in 
the Scriptures. Here we find the doctrine of the Fatherhood 
of God. This relationship of Father and son is not limited to 
the relatively good, but extends also to the evil and the unthank¬ 
ful. It is true that there is a special tie between the Father and 
His penitent and obedient children, just as an earthly father 
regards a good son differently from what he does a bad son, but 
this does not change the fact of the relationship to the one who 
does wrong. Not merely those who try to serve Him, but all 
men live and move and have their being in God. 

The truth of this doctrine has often been denied. Many have 
attempted to limit the Fatherhood of God to those who were 
a doctnne of obedient. They have claimed that, by reason of his 
scripture. s } n> ma n had forfeited all claim to sonship, that in 
his natural state he is not a son, and that he can only become 
one by repentance and reformation. But this does not seem to 
be in accordance with the general tenor of Scripture or with the 
dictates of reason. God says to every man, “ My son, give me 
thine heart.” He requires,, from each and from all, what may 
justly be required of children — and of children only. The Jews 
were a rebellious race, yet as a people they could look to God 
and say, “ Thou art our Father, though Abraham knoweth us 
not, and Israel doth not acknowledge us : Thou, O Lord, art 
our Father.” Then, too, the prayer which Christ taught His 
disciples, and in which God is addressed as “ Our Father which 
art in heaven,” became a part of the Scriptures and was evi¬ 
dently designed for the use of all men. It is incredible that the 
inspired writers should have given us this prayer, and have 
referred, as they so often did in the Gospels, to. God as our 
Father, if the relationship which this term indicates had not 
been real and universal. 

From the idea of the Fatherhood of God we get the now pop¬ 
ular doctrine of the Brotherhood of man. If the former can be 
The Brotherhood fu% established the latter must follow. If one fails 
of man. the other cannot be sustained. If the Fatherhood 

of God is limited to those who have accepted His call to repent 
and turn to Him,. the great, mass of men are not brothers. 


ENDLESS EXISTENCE 


275 

They have no common Father and no bond of union. They 
are not entitled to use the Lord’s prayer. They are waifs in the 
world. 

It does not seem just, or scriptural, to so limit the doctrine of 
the Fatherhood of God. It is true that we are wayward, and 
sinful, and degraded, but we are children notwithstanding our 
wanderings. The relatively good are sinners as truly, though 
not to the same extent, as are the relatively bad. All men have 
“ come short of the glory of God,” but they all were made in 
His image, and they must still be, the most sinful as well as 
those who have not wandered as far from the fold, the children 
of God. The prodigal remained a son, even though he strayed 
far from home. Whether he repents and returns, or persists in 
remaining away forever, the man who strays from God cannot 
change the fact that his parentage was divine. As one of the 
ablest and best of the preachers of recent times has said: “ Man 
is, and has never ceased to be, the child of God.” 1 

If this is true, if we really are the children of God, it is cer¬ 
tain that He will treat us as children deserve to be treated. 
Now children are under authority and are subject to , f we are ch u dren 
correction and discipline by their parents. But by ofGod * 
virtue of the relationship which has been established they are 
entitled to receive constant and loving care. This is due on 
the ground of simple justice. It is also a sentiment of common 
humanity, as well as a dictate of affection. No parent who has 
any proper conception of the duties and privileges which spring 
from this tie of kindred ever thinks of withholding this care and 
affection from his children. 

One of the frequent figures in which God represents Himself 
to men is that of a Father who is interested in his children. 
Both the Old and the New Testaments abound in such refer¬ 
ences. He is a “ Father of the fatherless.” When the earthly 
father and mother have forsaken their offspring the Lord will 
supply the needs of the deserted ones. As manifested in Christ, 
He is proclaimed by Isaiah as the “ Everlasting Father.” 
Through Jeremiah He announces Himself “ a Father to Israel.” 
Time after time Christ told His hearers of their Father, and 
Paul wrote of “ the Father of mercies and God of all comfort.” 
These, and many other passages which might be quoted, show 

1 Phillips Brooks, D. D., Sermon an the Perfect Life* 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


276 

that God cares for and watches over all of His children upon 
the earth. Even though we wander from Him, we are not cut 
off from His interest and attention. His appeals for our return 
are urgent, and tender, and unceasing. We may become objects 
of His pity, but we shall not cease to be objects of His love. 

If we look only to the present life, we shall not find these 
representations of the character of God, as it relates to the care 
The present view of His children, fully sustained. Individuals, commu- 
nmited. nities, states, and nations all have their calamities; 

many of them have their tragedies. The pages of history are 
darkened by the record of great wrongs which have never been 
redressed, and of suffering, much of which was undeserved, for 
which there has been no compensation. We are appalled by 
the multitude and the magnitude of the evils of life. “ Heart 
and mind would reel in contemplation of them, but for the 
thought that the present life is but as a lightning flash in the 
eyes of infinite love, which has eternal ages before it for the ful¬ 
fillment of its work.” 1 

It is only by looking at this world as a place of education and 
discipline that we can understand how the inspired declaration 
that “ God is love ” can be harmonized with the suffering of man. 
He has power to prevent this suffering, but He does not use it 
for this purpose. Therefore, if the present life closes human 
existence, it cannot be shown that God really loves and cares for 
His children. But we believe, we know, that He does love and 
care for us. And so we assert the necessity, and the certainty, 
of a future life in which there shall be a complete manifestation 
of His fatherly affection and solicitude. 

The revelations which God made of Himself to the patriarchs 
and the prophets in the olden time must be accepted as evidence 
Revelations of that they, at least, were to have a future life. He 
God ‘ called Abraham His friend, and His relation with 

Enoch was one of very close communion. He made covenants 
with Noah, with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. He 
“spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his 
friend.” He made a compact with David concerning the throne 
of Israel, and in direct personal communication often revealed 
Himself to the men whom He had chosen as the messengers of 
His mercy or His judgment. 

1 E. De Pressensd, The Ancient World and Christianity. 


ENDLESS EXISTENCE 


277 

It is inconceivable that God should have entered into such 
relations unless they were to be permanent. He in whose sight 
a thousand years 

“ Are but as yesterday when it is past, 

And as a watch in the night,” 

could not be expected to make these covenants and communica¬ 
tions with creatures whose existence is as brief as the earthly 
life of man. Not only this, but long after they had permanent reia- 
passed from earth, God proclaimed Himself to Moses tionshlp - 
as “the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of 
Jacob.” In refuting the doctrine of the Sadducees, who denied 
a future life, Christ stated this fact, with the simple, but unan¬ 
swerable comment that “ God is not the God of the dead, but of 
the living.” If He was their God in the time of Moses, there 
was conclusive evidence that these men had survived the event 
of death. 

The cases thus far noted are those of great leaders of Israel. 
In point of character these men were far superior to the vast 
majority of their race. Looking at the matter from covenants with 
a merely human point of view, we should say that thepeop,e • 
they were much more worthy of a continued existence than were 
the masses of the people. Without additional evidence we could 
not feel sure that because these eminent individuals did not per¬ 
ish at death all men would have a future life. But we find that, 
at many times, God made covenants with the people themselves. 
We also find that, in spite of their frequent murmurings, and 
wanderings, and rebellions, He led them in a wonderful manner, 
and at length established them as a nation in the land which He 
had promised as their inheritance. This shows that His love 
and care were not limited to the great and the good, but were 
manifested to all, and it justifies the hope and expectation that 
all will share in a life beyond that of the present world. 

In a certain sense the Children of Israel were a peculiar 
people. They were selected for special training in order to lead 
the nations to a proper conception of the one true God, and to 
be an object lesson for all coming time of the way in which He 
deals with men. But the advantage of their position was only 
for a limited period. The “ wall of partition ” was broken down. 
The fact that God’s love and care embrace the whole family of 
man was made known. His dealings with the race which He 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


The work of 
Christ. 


278 

so marvelously guided and protected should inspire confidence 
in every human heart. His faithfulness in the past is an ample 
pledge of His fidelity in the future. 

Each of the evidences thus far noted, which refer to the char¬ 
acter of God, have weight. All converge to a single conclusion. 

But the supreme reason for believing that the soul 
of man is immortal is to be found in the work of 
Jesus Christ in the world. Unless man is to live hereafter no 
possible explanation of this work can be found. If he ceases to 
be at death there was no apparent necessity for such a work. 
For its beneficent results are very largely to come in the future. 
The present good which it brings is only incidental. If this 
had been all that was to have been gained we can be sure that 
Christ never would have left the glory which He had with the 
Father, and have undergone the humiliation and suffering which 
His life and death on earth entailed. 

Then, too, Christ had much to say about burdens, and afflic¬ 
tions, and cross-bearing, and self-sacrifice. He told men to 
count the cost before they cast in their lot with Him. He offered 
to help them bear the burdens and endure the trials which would 
come, and He often spoke of a reward which all who proved 
faithful to Him should receive. But over and over again He 
emphasized the fact that the reward was not to come in this 
world. It was to be held in reserve while His followers were 
here, but would be bestowed upon them in a life beyond the 
scene of their conflicts and sufferings. Thus, to all who believe 
the Bible, the work and the teaching of Christ conclusively prove 
that man has an immortal soul. 

Some, though very far from all, pronounced evolutionists have 
held that the life of man is limited to the present world. Such 
a conclusion is not necessary, and such an outcome 

Evolution and ^ 

the doctrine of does not seem probable. To one who holds that the 

immortality. 1 • 1 r r 1 it* , 

physical frame of man has reached its present degree 
of perfection by a vast course of progression from a lower to a 
higher stage, but that the spiritual nature came directly from 
the Creator, the doctrine of the immortality of the soul does not 
present any special difficulty. It does not conflict with the 
theory of evolution. 

It is not my purpose to state arguments either for or against 
this theory. If the agency of God is recognized in the creation 


ENDLESS EXISTENCE 


279 

of man, it does not sacrifice any vital principle to hold that the 
method adopted was that of development instead of direct for¬ 
mation. A man may be an evolutionist and also be a sincere 
and exemplary Christian; or he may utterly reject the theory of 
evolution, hold that the older interpretations of the Bible and 
Nature were literally correct, and yet be wholly destitute of the 
principles, and an entire stranger to the practices, of a genuine 
Christianity. What is here intended is to show that the theory, 
so often pronounced contrary to the Christian religion, is not 
materialistic, and that it really offers very strong presumptive 
evidence of the immortality of the human soul. 

The evolutionist traces the progress of creation from the inor¬ 
ganic to the vegetable, the vegetable to the lower animal forms, 
and from these up to man. Some hold that this advance was 
the result of the unbroken processes of a law of Nature or of 
God. Others believe, and it seems upon much stronger evi¬ 
dence, that there have been, at various points, direct creative 
acts. But all agree that man stands at the head of the vast sys¬ 
tem of development, and that, though he is still capable of great 
improvement, he is the end for which all this marvelous work 
has been done. They believe that better men will come upon 
the earth, but they do not expect that any beings with nobler 
powers, or greater possibilities, will ever appear. 

The evolutionist also believes that the world itself was de¬ 
veloped expressly for man, to be the scene of his education, the 
home in which he should spend his earliest years. But, mag¬ 
nificent as is this world, vast as are the stores which it contains, 
and wonderful as are the agencies and appliances which it offers 
for his service, it does not furnish anything which approaches an 
adequate field for the exercise of the powers and the develop¬ 
ment of the capacities with which man has been endowed. The 
conditions are too limited, and the time is too short, for man to 
make more than a mere beginning of life in this world. 

If this whole process of evolution, bringing the universe out 
of chaos and, by innumerable changes which required unnum¬ 
bered millions of ages for their completion, fitting the world to 
be the habitation of man, and raising man himself to the grand 
estate of an intellectual and moral being, has had humanity as 
its central object and final goal, it seems not only improbable, 
but impossible, that the soul should perish at death. If death 


28 o 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


is the end, the long record of progress must close with what 
man is here and now. The process of evolution brings him into 
possession of wonderful powers, and death cuts him off before 
he has had time or place in which to use them. All that up to 
this point has been gained is lost, and lost forever. Instead of a 
“ sublime and eternal path of progress ” for the soul, the path 
ends at death. After all the development from lower forms up 
to man there is a falling back into inanimate dust. The end 
is no better than the beginning. The great, and for ages upon 
ages apparently successful, struggle toward perfection utterly 
fails. Just as victory seemed sure there has come an appalling 
and an irretrievable disaster. 

From the standpoint of evolution the argument for continued 
existence after death is unanswerable. For such enormous ex¬ 
penditure there must be immeasurably greater returns than can 
ever come in time. If for millions of ages God has been work¬ 
ing through the mighty forces of nature to develop man, it may 
confidently be asserted that He will not allow the grand results 
which thus far have been attained to perish so soon. 

The reasons which have been given in support of the doctrine 
of the immortality of the soul are numerous and weighty. They 
a revelation are drawn from widely different sources, and they 
needed. vary g rea tly i n their value, but they all lead to the 

same conclusion. Their united testimony is very strong. 

We have obtained a great deal of light from nature, and from 
science; from the constitution of man, and from the character 
of God. But our final appeal must be to revelation. Regarding 
physical things we learn a great deal by observation and experi¬ 
ence, but no human observation can penetrate the veil which 
separates the present state of existence from what lies beyond 
the event of death, and until an exchange of worlds has been 
made no one can determine by experience what occurs to the 
soul after it leaves the body. So, in order that we may obtain 
full assurance concerning a future state of being, we need a 
revelation from the God who made us, who understands our needs, 
and who knows our destiny. Not only this, but we also need to 
have the revelation so fully confirmed that we can be sure that 
it really came from Him. 

All of this we have in the Bible and in the life of Jesus Christ. 
Many references to Scripture, and to the work of the Saviour, 


ENDLESS EXISTENCE 2 81 

have already been made, but a somewhat fuller statement seems 
to be required. In the Old Testament there are 
intimations of the immortal nature of the soul. Ha8beensuppl,ed ‘ 
These are dim at first, but they become clearer, in the later 
books. In the New Testament the doctrine is clearly and 
definitely stated many times, and is enforced by the strongest 
arguments and the most convincing proofs. Christ boldly pro¬ 
claims His power over death. He calls back to their bodies 
departed souls, and the persons thus raised from the dead con¬ 
tinue to live as though they had not died. He professes to 
have complete power over His own life, and asserts His ability 
to lay it down and to take it again. He dies, and on the third 
day from that of his decease He comes from the tomb in the full 
vigor of life. Hostile criticism has done its utmost to discredit 
the sacred narrative, but the facts of the death of Christ and 
His reappearance in human form have never been disproved. 
The evidence is so clear and abundant that the vast majority of 
intelligent scholars admit that Christ actually died and rose 
from the dead. By His own deeds, and in His own person, He 
conclusively proved that He had absolute power over death, 
both as it related to others and to Himself. 

It was one of the leading doctrines of Christ that this life is 
only a mere fragment of the existence of man. Over and over 
again, in the most emphatic and unequivocal lan- T he promise of 
guage, He asserted that it matters but little how a m 
man fares in this world. This was not on account of indiffer¬ 
ence to human welfare in the present life, but because He knew 
that the real, the vital interests, lie beyond. He warned His 
disciples that they would have to endure many and great tribu¬ 
lations here, but He promised them the reward of eternal life, 
under happier conditions, if they remained faithful in the work 
to which they had been called. This was the prize for which 
He urged His hearers to strive, and which He assured them 
could be obtained by all. 

The desire and the expectation of a future life, which have 
been common in the world, have never of themselves alone 
given a firm and an abiding faith in the doctrine of The influence of 
the immortality of the soul. In the midst of dark- CMst 
ness there was a groping for the truth, but it was not clearly 
revealed until Christ brought light and life to the world. The 


282 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


faith of the greatest philosophers who were friendly to the doc¬ 
trine, but who had no knowledge of His Word, sometimes wa¬ 
vered. There was a marked contrast in the attitude of Socrates 
and that of Paul as they neared the close of the earthly state. 
The one was calm, hopeful, but somewhat uncertain. The 
other was triumphant. There was no doubt in the mind of 
Paul. He exulted in the thought that he was about to depart. 
He was sure of a future and a glorious life. What the Greek 
philosopher dimly saw, the great Apostle clearly beheld. They 
were equally earnest in their search for the truth; but to the one 
Christ had not been revealed, while to the other He had brought 
the truth of immortality to light. 

What the teaching of Christ did for Paul it should do for 
every Christian. He has, as truly as the Apostle had, the assur- 
Confidencejusti- ance that Christ has triumphed over death, and that 
fied • He will give the victory to all who trust him. In 

many cases faith is weak, but in many others it rises to a sub¬ 
lime height. It is said of Theodore Parker that with him 
“ immortality was no wish or dream or hope. It was more than 
belief: it was knowledge. He knew he was immortal, he felt it 
in every fibre of his soul .” 1 

We have in Christianity a certainty regarding a future life 
that is not found in any worldly philosophy, or in any other 
form of religion. It offers a reason for confidence which can¬ 
not be found elsewhere. In the triumph of Christ over death, 
and the full assurance that His followers shall obtain a similar 
victory, we have ample grounds for belief in our own immortal- 
ity. 

The vast procession of humanity constantly moves along. 
Death is ever busy, but the places of those whom he calls from 
_ , . the ranks are filled by others who are added to the 

77 je dead still live. , J 

race by birth. We talk of the dead. We should 
speak of them as the departed. They greatly outnumber those 
who walk upon the earth. We do not see them, but they live 
as truly as do any of the human family who have not yet passed 
through the gate which we call death. 

u It is a thought as dread and high, 

And one to wake a fearful thrill, 

To think, while all who live must die, 

The dead, the dead, are living still! ” 

1 Joseph Henry Allen, Our Liberal Movement in Theology . 


CHAPTER XVIII 


CONDITIONAL IMMORTALITY 

In the form in which it is most generally received, the doc¬ 
trine of the immortality of the soul recognizes a future life as 
the natural inheritance of man. According to this 
theory our first parents were created with immortal the doctrine of 
souls, and this power of endless life has been trans- ,mmortal,ty ’ 
mitted to their descendants. Immortality is an endowment 
from God. It is a possession which cannot be taken from the 
owner, and which cannot be alienated by him. Life that has 
commenced upon earth must go on forever. 

In Christian lands, and particularly among those who accept 
the Bible as a revelation from God, a doctrine which is known 
as conditional immortality, sometimes also called a modification of 
annihilationism, has come into considerable promi- the doctrine - 
nence. It is not by any means a new doctrine. To some ex¬ 
tent it was held in very early times. There were many among 
the ancients who did not regard the masses immortal but who 
believed that a favored few, who were good or great on earth, 
might live beyond the grave. It appeared in the philosophy of 
Greece and Rome. With some of the early Church Fathers it 
was an article of faith. In modern times it has been accepted 
by not a few prominent religious writers, and it is now held by a 
large number of people who belong to various religious sects, 
and many church organizations make it a leading article in their 
creeds. 

The forms in which the doctrine of conditional immortality is 
stated by theological writers are various, but the leading idea is 
the same in all. This is, that immortality is not the Theoryof 
birthright of man, not something that already be- condit!onallsm - 
longs to him, but a great prize which he should earnestly strive 
to secure. In his nature he is as perishable as the plant or the 
animal. There is nothing within him which guarantees, or even 
promises, a continuance of existence after death. He is merely 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


284 

“ a candidate for immortality.” He may secure the blessing if 
he will, or he may fall short of its attainment All depends 
upon himself. If he has a proper kind, and a sufficient degree, 
of faith, and his life is pure, he will effect a permanent union 
with God, and will secure eternal life. If this faith is wanting, 
or if the life is not in accordance with the principles of right, he 
will fall below the standard which those who are to become im¬ 
mortal must reach. Either at death, the judgment, or at the 
close of a period of punishment, the duration of which will be 
determined by the degree of wickedness of which he has been 
guilty, he will pass out of existence. 

This theory is, at many points, radically opposed to the doctrine 
of immortality as it has been stated in the preceding chapter. 

It has been accepted by many who are burdened by 

Why it is accepted. r J J . . J 

the fact that large numbers of men die in unre¬ 
pented sin, which makes them unfit for a home in heaven, and 
who, as no other probation will be given, must suffer as long as 
they continue to exist. They feel that there should be a marked 
distinction between the good and the wicked, and they cannot 
accept the doctrine that both classes will eventually meet upon 
common ground, and together enjoy the blessings of a holy and 
an endless life. But the idea of unending misery, even for the 
most wicked of human creatures, seems too horrible to be enter¬ 
tained. So they attempt to find a refuge from this terrible out¬ 
come of human life in the theory that all who have no possible 
hope of happiness will be destroyed. Thus, while the wicked will 
sustain an indescribable loss by failing to secure the eternal happi¬ 
ness which they might have obtained, they will escape the fearful 
doom which would inevitably be their portion if their personal 
existence were not blotted out. The sentiment which prompts 
its adherents to accept this doctrine is kindly. Whether there 
is sufficient warrant in Scripture, and in other sources of know¬ 
ledge, to justify their belief, is a question which a great number 
of intelligent people are compelled to answer in the negative. 

If the claims of evolutionists were fully established, the doc¬ 
trine of the conditional immortality of the human soul would 
support from the rece * ve considerable support therefrom. If we be- 
theory °f ecotu- lieve that man has come up from the lower forms of 

creation, and that the spiritual element of his nature 
is developed only by faith in God, it will be easy to see that this 


ENDLESS EXISTENCE 


285 

higher part of himself may be too feeble to survive any great 
catastrophe. Whether we like to do so or not, we are com¬ 
pelled to admit that there are men in this world who are a great 
deal nearer the level of the higher animals than they should be. 
Of these, vast numbers are in the savage state. They are on 
the plane which their ancestors occupied many generations ago. 
They are as destitute of true religion as they are of civilization. 
More hopeless cases are found in enlightened lands. These are 
men who have had light but have refused to see. They have 
intelligently and persistently followed courses of iniquity which 
have brought them to the lowest rank of degradation which can 
be reached in this world. Many evolutionists hold that such 
men, “ to all intents and purposes are but little higher than the 
animals, and will sink back into the animal and finally become 
extinct .” 1 

We find that life in the natural world is largely dependent 
upon environment. If an animal is to live and thrive, the con¬ 
ditions of climate and of food supply must be favorable. The 
same is true of trees and plants. In the struggle for existence 
vast numbers of animals and trees and plants perish long before 
their normal time. Those which are unable to conform to the 
conditions under which they are placed are compelled to give 
way to others, which are either better fitted by nature, or which 
have greater powers of adaptation. 

Some who hold the doctrine of conditional immortality be¬ 
lieve that the law that prevails in the animal and vegetable 
worlds will apply to the human soul. They claim T he doctrine not 
that spiritual life comes from God, and that if a soul proved - 
continuously withdraws itself from God it must perish, just as a 
plant perishes if it is cut off from its sources of nutrition. The 
result in regard to the plant is plain enough, but concerning 
man it is not so clear. The plant is perishable by nature. It 
is not certain that this is the case with man. He may be en¬ 
dowed with life as a possession which he cannot alienate. If he 
persistently wanders away from God he will be unutterably 
miserable. His spiritual nature will be dwarfed, and his animal 
nature will be his master; but it is not possible to prove that 
this failure to develop his higher powers will ever bring his 
conscious existence to an end. 

1 Lyman Abbott, D. D., Theology of an Evolutionist. 


286 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


It has already been shown that science can neither prove 
nor disprove the truth of the doctrine of immortality. Still, it 
The intimations affords many indications that life will persist. It 
of science. does not, however, aid the theory of conditionalism. 

It teaches that nothing is destroyed. The forms of matter may 
pass through an almost endless series of changes, but there is 
nothing in the way of destruction. The quality of matter, as we 
estimate it, has nothing to do with its continuance. We can no 
more destroy anything that we consider bad than we can cause 
what we regard as good to cease to exist. And it seems prob¬ 
able that if the souls of the good survive the event of death, the 
souls of the wicked will also continue to live. Of course God 
can intervene to preserve the good and destroy the evil, but no 
such interruption of the course of natural law is predicted by 
science. 

Conditionalism receives no support from physiology or psy¬ 
chology. The good man is just as much benefited by a strong 
and healthy physical organization, or hampered by a weak and 
sickly one, as is the bad man. So far as our observation can 
enlighten us, accident and disease are as damaging to the best 
man in the community as they are to the worst. 

As it is with the body, so it is with the mind. The appear¬ 
ance of the human brain is the same in the case of the sinner as 
it is in that of the saint. The method of mental perception is 
the same in both, and it is the same in a man before he accepts 
Christ as his Saviour, and thus, according to the conditionalist 
theory, is changed from a mortal to an immortal creature, as 
it was before this change of relationship to God was effected. 
Whether the soul be regarded as an entity, an influence, or a 
force, there is nothing revealed by science to prove that separa¬ 
tion from the body will have any different effect upon its being 
and character in the case of one man than it will in the case of 
any other person. So far as science can show, death is just as 
impartial regarding the spiritual nature of man as it is in respect 
to his physical frame. What comes to one, comes to all. 

While indications and arguments from other sources have a 
value which entitles them to careful consideration, the fact that 
Must appeal to the Scriptures are the principal and the only infalli- 
the scriptures. ble source 0 { knowledge regarding this subject must 
not be overlooked or ignored. Whatever the Bible plainly 


ENDLESS EXISTENCE 


287 

teaches must be accepted as true. But in order to determine 
what is thus taught it will be necessary to note the general tenor 
of the Scriptures as a whole. Isolated passages cannot be relied 
upon. By skillful explanations they can be made to sustain 
almost any form of doctrine. It is only by a careful considera¬ 
tion of the connection of these passages with the matter in which 
they are found, and to which they are related, that we can hope 
to arrive at the truth. 

At the very outset of an inquiry regarding the teaching of the 
Scriptures as to the doctrine of the conditional immortality of 
the human soul, we are confronted by a grave dif- Dependsupon 
ficulty. The question of sustaining, or of failing to inter P retation - 
sustain, this doctrine turns very largely upon the interpretation 
of a comparatively few passages, and the force which is allowed 
to a small number of very common words. Those who believe 
that the soul is not naturally immortal, but can become im¬ 
perishable by faith in Christ, hold that certain passages, which 
others believe to be metaphorical, are to be taken literally, and 
that the words life, death, destruction, and various others of 
a similar nature, which are often used in relation to a future 
state of being, or extinction of being, are to be given the same 
meaning that they have in secular literature, and in common 
conversation. They claim, therefore, that in the Bible, as else¬ 
where, life stands for existence, and death, which all admit is the 
opposite of life, must mean non-existence. According to this 
interpretation the living man, who still inhabits his physical 
frame, exists, while the man who has died has ceased to exist. 

Various arguments which are used by conditionalists, in com¬ 
mon with all other opponents of the doctrine of the inherent 
immortality of the human soul, have been stated in the preced¬ 
ing chapter. It is not necessary to refer to all of them again in 
detail. But some of the leading principles of this form of belief 
must be briefly noted in this connection. 

The central point of attack upon the traditional or orthodox 
view, as it is often styled by those who hold the theory of con- 
ditionalism, is the nature of man. If man is immor- Thepolntof 
tal by virtue of his creation, there is no need of attacL 
argument to prove that he will, or will not, exist forever, with¬ 
out regard to his moral character. But the conditionalist be¬ 
lieves that man was not created with the necessity of eternal 


238 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


existence. Immortality could have been, but was not, secured. 
His failure to obtain it was caused by his sin. “ He was created 
of a perishable order of being; the gift of immortality was made 
dependent upon his obedience, as the inexorable condition of 
its bestowal; but upon his transgression that gift was withheld, 
and the whole man, body and soul together, doomed to perish .” 1 

Here the claim is made that by nature man is just as perish¬ 
able as is the brute. It is true that the animal has a bodily and, 
in some degree, a mental life, similar to that of man. But man 
has also a spiritual nature with which the brute is not endowed. 
The possession of this higher nature, which makes him capable 
of communion with God, places man in a very different relation 
to his Creator from that which any inferior creature can sustain. 
It is reasonable to suppose that this wide variation in character 
and capacity may make an equally great difference in the des¬ 
tiny of the two classes of beings. 

According to the Scripture narrative, God placed Adam in a 
garden which contained many trees which were “ pleasant to the 
nc penalty of sight, and good for food,” and gave him permission 
disobedience. to eat freely of every one except “ the tree of the 
knowledge of good and evil.” Of this tree God commanded 
him not to eat As a solemn warning against disobedience He 
added the penalty, “in the day that thou eatest thereof thou 
shalt surely die.” This is interpreted by the conditionalists to 
mean that the whole man, the soul as well as the body, was 
threatened with utter extinction in case of disobedience. When 
man sinned it is supposed that the whole being became subject 
to death. The body perishes first, but the soul, unless brought 
into living union with Christ, will pass out of existence at the 
judgment, or at the expiration of the term of punishment to 
which it may be subjected for its sins. 

It is claimed that the term “ death ” means the same when 
applied to the soul as it does when used in reference to the 
Meaning of the body. As the body passes out of existence as an 
word-death." independent organism, so the soul will be, so far as 
its conscious personality is concerned, obliterated when the 
appointed time for its death shall come. 

This view is enforced by an appeal to such texts of Scripture 

1 Rev. William Ker, Immortality, Eternal Punishment, and the State of Separate 
Souls . 


RUINS OF TEMPLE AT PHIL/E. BUILT A. D. 100. 

































* 

' • :;il ™ 






















ENDLESS EXISTENCE 


289 

as the following: “ The wicked shall perish; ” “ The lamp of 
the wicked shall be put out; ” “ They that strive with thee shall 
be as nothing, and shall perish; ” “ All the proud, and all that 
work wickedness, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh 
shall burn them up, saith the Lord of Hosts, that it shall leave 
them neither root nor branch.” In the New Testament we are 
assured that “ he that obeyeth not the Son shall not see life,” 
and “he that hath not the Son of God hath not the life.” 
Throughout the Scriptures, passages of similar import abound. 
If separated from their contexts, and taken literally, they would 
make it difficult if not impossible to avoid the conclusion to 
which the advocates of the conditional theory have arrived. 

Much stress is also laid on the statement, in the Epistle to 
the Romans, that “ the wages of sin is death; but the free gift 
of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” 

. ... *' < The gift of God. 

Here is a sharp distinction. Death is the punish¬ 
ment of those who continue in sin. Life is given to those who 
become united to Christ. The fact that this life is said to be a 
free gift is put forward to prove that man is not naturally im¬ 
mortal. For if by inheritance, or by special endowment, he 
had received this eternal life at his birth, it would not be given 
to him when he accepted Christ as a Saviour. He could not 
properly be said to receive at that time something that he had 
possessed from the day upon which he was born. 

Then, too, immortality is represented under the figure of a 
prize which God will give to those who are faithful in His ser¬ 
vice. While it is a gift, it is not to be bestowed 

. . 0 A prize to be won. 

unconditionally. It is a treasure to be won, as well 
as to be received. Christ solemnly urged His hearers to “strive 
to enter in by the narrow door” that opened to eternal life. 
He warned them that many would seek to enter who, through 
want of earnestness or perseverance, would not be able to pass 
through, and who thus would fail to secure the unending bless¬ 
edness which God was willing and desirous to bestow. The 
man who was too indifferent to strive for it would not receive 
the prize. In the same strain the Apostle Paul, when writing 
to Timothy, urges him to “ lay hold on the life eternal,” and 
charges him to teach others to so live in this world “ that they 
may lay hold on the life which is life indeed.” 

These, and similar passages, are quoted to prove that man 
19 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


29O 

cannot be immortal by nature. If he had possessed this endless 
life he would not be urged to strive for it, or to lay hold of it, or 
to make any effort for its attainment. Man cannot acquire 
what he already has, and neither Christ nor Paul would have 
urged men to spend their strength in an effort to secure some¬ 
thing which was their natural heritage, and of which they had 
never been deprived. 

Another stronghold of the believers in conditional immortality 
is found in the reference by the Apostle Paul, in the first of his 
statements of letters to Timothy, to God “who only hath immor- 
Paul • tality.” This is presented as an unanswerable argu¬ 

ment against the inherent immortality of man. It is fortified, 
too, by the statement of the same Apostle, when writing to the 
believers at Corinth, that in the resurrection of the just, when 
death itself is destroyed, “ this mortal shall have put on immor¬ 
tality.” They claim that it requires no special power of discern¬ 
ment to enable one to understand that if only God is immortal, 
all of His creatures must be mortal. And if man is now, has 
been from the moment of his birth, and always will be, immor¬ 
tal, there does not seem to be any propriety in saying that he 
will “ put on ” immortality at some future time. 

A large number of other words and phrases from the Scrip¬ 
tures, which are brought into the service of the conditionalists, 
objections to the might be quoted did the limits of this work allow, 
doctrine. but en0 ugh have been given to show the general 

grounds of the belief which they are used to sustain. It does 
not seem to me that any arguments for this doctrine, either 
from the Scriptures or from other sources, are conclusive. The 
passages from the Bible can be explained without resorting to 
this theory. The general trend of Scripture appears to be 
against it. Indications from the realm of nature, as has already 
been shown, lend it but little support. There are, also, some 
very serious objections to this teaching. Some, at least, of these 
must be noted. This, however, not for the sake of argument, or 
in order to oppose those who uphold the doctrine, for I should 
be glad indeed to agree with them if I could, but because it is 
impossible to ignore these objections in any honest investigation 
of the destiny of the human soul. 

In many places in the Scriptures the words which denote 
being, cessation of being, and continued existence, are used in a 


ENDLESS EXISTENCE 


29I 

very different sense from what they are in other parts of the 
Bible, or in the ordinary course of communication. Enlarged mean- 
Their force depends very largely upon the connec- ings of worda - 
tion in which they appear, and the manner in which they are used. 
Many words have not only their original meanings, but also far 
larger and fuller significations. At first applied to material 
things, their meaning was clear but limited. When they were 
made to stand for spiritual ideas they became much more com¬ 
prehensive. This fact the advocates of the conditionalist theory 
seem to have overlooked. “ They forget that a new order of 
thought and faith like Christianity has to fill old words with a 
new meaning for the expression of new ideas. They forget that 
the terms must have a sense commensurate with the objects to 
which they are applied. If they are used of objects whose 
nature it is to cease to be, they will have the literal sense. But 
if they are employed of objects whose nature is the opposite, 
they will have a larger meaning .” 1 

Here seems to be the key to the problem. As applied to the 
soul, such words as life, death, destruction, perish, and others of 
the same general class, have a figurative meaning. Spiritual death 
The death with which Adam was threatened as the 
penalty of disobedience may not have meant, and probably did 
not mean, a total passing out of existence when the body dies. 
It did not necessarily imply extinction of being. But it did 
involve a break in the close communion of man with his Maker, 
which he had previously enjoyed. It caused a separation of the 
soul from the God with whom it formerly had most intimate 
relations. This, it is believed, is what constituted the spiritual 
part of the penalty. 

Spiritual life means a great deal more than the mere continu¬ 
ance in being of the soul after death. It means quality as well 
as quantity of existence. The eternal life which 

n J . . . . Spiritual life. 

Christ promised to give, and of which Paul urged 
his readers to lay hold, is a good, as well as a prolonged, exist¬ 
ence. And the death regarding which Christ uttered the most 
solemn and emphatic warnings, and which the prophets and 
apostles set forth as a most appalling disaster, must have been a 
great deal more than the falling of the individual into nothing¬ 
ness. The manner and the connections in which the words 

1 S. D. F. Salmond, D. D., The Christian Doctrine of Immortality. 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


292 

“ life ” and “ death ” were often used show beyond all doubt that 
they were designed to carry a great deal more than their ordi¬ 
nary meaning. 

“ Destruction ” is one of the words upon which the advocates 
of the conditional theory place a great deal of reliance. Yet this 
word, and the same may be said of each of its kin- 

Destruction. . ; . . . 

dred terms, is used in the Bible in a manner that is 
entirely at variance with their doctrine. As a single illustration 
let us take the passage in Hosea, in which God says, “ It is thy 
destruction, O Israel, that thou art against me, against thy help.” 
Here “destruction” means something very different from annihi¬ 
lation. The same figure is used elsewhere in connections which 
show that the word has the same limitations. The people de¬ 
stroyed themselves, but God promised to come to their relief, 
and time after time He brought them out of the ruin into which 
they had plunged. This proves that the destruction which had 
come upon them was not absolute. The word was used in a 
figurative, and not in a literal, sense. 

Another word that is largely employed in support of the con¬ 
ditional theory is “ perish.” This word appears in many passages 
perish i n it has th e literal meaning, it seems to 

teach that man may lose his personal existence. But 
it is certain that this word is used in the Bible in a much more 
limited sense. When the disciples were afraid of being drowned 
in the lake, and awoke the Master, saying, “ Save, Lord; we 
perish,” there is no reason to suppose that they had the slight¬ 
est thought of passing out of existence. What they feared was 
death, and this they undoubtedly believed to be merely the sep¬ 
aration of the soul from the body. 

Perhaps there is no word which is used in religious literature 
concerning the exact meaning of which there has been more 
controversy than there has been over that of “ immor¬ 
tality.” Like many other words this has a narrow, 
literal meaning, and also one that is a great deal larger and 
fuller. It is often used to signify freedom from death. In this 
sense it is equivalent to endless existence, or eternal life, and 
these terms are often regarded as having precisely the same 
meaning. When used in this manner they support the claims 
of those who believe that faith in Christ is an inexorable condi¬ 
tion of the immortality of the human soul. 


Immortality. 


ENDLESS EXISTENCE 


293 

Those who hold that man is naturally immortal claim that 
eternal life means a great deal more than endless existence. 
Man does not need to strive for mere existence, for 
he has it, and it will not, perhaps cannot, be taken Eterna " ,fe * 
from him. What the Scriptures urge him to strive for is to 
make his existence supremely happy. If he accepts Christ as 
his Saviour he will secure this end. If he does not become 
united to God through Christ his existence will be continued, 
but will be unutterably miserable. He will have immortality, 
but it will not be a blessed immortality. The continued exist¬ 
ence is an inheritance of the good and the bad alike. The bless¬ 
edness of that existence is not inherited, but is the reward of 
faith and fidelity. Thus there is a very true, though limited, 
sense in which immortality is to be obtained “ by the cross only.” 
For it is not the length of the period through which it is con¬ 
tinued, but the quality of the life which determines whether it 
really is immortal. 

The statement, upon which the conditionalists strongly rely, 
that God “ only hath immortality,” may be explained by saying 
that He is the one and only source of existence, immortality from 
He is the only Being who can impart immortality. God ‘ 

Created beings can receive it, but they cannot communicate it 
to others. Thus, though only God may have it independently 
of any other being, He may have imparted it to man as one of 
the essential and indestructible qualities of his nature. The fact 
that it was derived from God does not make it either impossible 
or improbable that his existence will be continued forever. And 
when, at the resurrection, the righteous “ put on immortality,” 
it is not to be supposed that they extend the period of their 
natural existence. The addition is one of quality, not of quan¬ 
tity. With restored bodies, and pure souls, their life becomes 
an endless course of perfect blessedness. 

The doctrine of conditional immortality involves a very low 
view of human nature. One of the ablest advocates of this form 
of belief asserts that “man has been overrated,” and 
speaks of the “ inflated arrogance ” of those who Degrades man ' 
claim inherent immortality . 1 But the Scriptures affirm that man 
was made a superior being, and, though he lost much of his 
nobility by transgression, we are not informed that the image of 

1 E. Petavel, D. D., The Problem of Immortality. 


294 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


God was wholly effaced, and it does not seem possible that his 
endowment of immortality was forfeited. Man still remains at 
the head of creation. He still rules the animal and the vegeta¬ 
ble world. If the “ fitness of things ” is any criterion, man will 
not pass out of existence like the tree or the beast. 

Not only this, but it is fair to suppose that God takes into 
account the capacities of men as well as what they actually ac- 
capadtiesfor complish. He sees, as man cannot see, to what 
goodness. heights it is possible for humanity to rise. The sav¬ 
ages and the barbarians, as truly as the people in civilized lands 
whose environment has been such that they could not rise to 
the intellectual and moral plane which they were designed to 
occupy, have great possibilities. Many, who to human sight 
may appear unfit to survive, would doubtless form noble char¬ 
acters if they were placed under favorable conditions. It is not 
probable that God will allow these capacities for goodness to 
entirely fail for want of an opportunity for their development. 
We cannot believe that a being who has a moral nature, freedom 
of will, and who is conscious of responsibility for his actions, 
will, like the most insignificant beast, perish at death. 

Concerning what immediately follows death, believers in the 
theory of conditional immortality do not agree much, if any, 
Between death and better than do those who hold that existence is with- 
theresurrection. ou t en( p Some think that man is utterly annihilated 
at death, though they believe that at the resurrection all who 
have ever lived will come from their graves to the general judg¬ 
ment of mankind. But this would not be a resurrection in any 
proper sense of the term. It would be an entirely new creation. 
Personal identity would be lost, and if that is wanting the judg¬ 
ment can have no moral value. Others hold that the body only 
is destroyed by death, but think that until the resurrection the 
soul remains in an entirely unconscious condition. This view 
does not seem to be either reasonable or scriptural. Still an¬ 
other class holds that between death and the resurrection the 
soul of man maintains its identity and consciousness. There is 
no cessation of its life when it leaves the body, but merely a 
change of place and conditions. The evidence is strongly in 
favor of this opinion. It will be presented in a later section of 
this work, in which the state of the soul during the period of its 
separation from the body will be considered. 


ENDLESS EXISTENCE 


295 

A very strong objection to the theory of conditional immor¬ 
tality as it is held by those who believe that the life of the soul 
is maintained between death and the resurrection is 

t , . . - - . . More than mortal 

found m the tact that, so far as existence is con- ifitsuruiuea 
cerned, death is the great crisis of being. If the soul 
does not perish at death it is fair to suppose that it can pass 
through any vicissitude to which it may be exposed. The im¬ 
penitent soul is said to be mortal because it is not united to 
Christ. It must perish because it has not received the gift of 
eternal life. But if this were strictly true, we should expect that 
the soul would pass out of existence with the body. Once admit 
that it does not perish when the body dies, and it will be neces¬ 
sary to acknowledge that it has within itself the power of con¬ 
tinued existence. How great this power may be the unaided 
reason of man cannot determine. But if the soul survives at all, 
it seems impossible to place a limit to its existence. We cannot 
be sure that sin, however deep and dark it may be, will ever 
blot out a human soul. If we accept the Bible as true we must 
admit that the fallen angels were not utterly destroyed when 
they rebelled against God. Their existence has been continued 
although their open and active revolt has not ceased. From 
this it is fair to infer that the soul of man may continue to exist, 
even under the severest displeasure of its Creator. 

The doctrine of conditional immortality makes necessary a 
wide departure from the view of the redemptive work of Christ, 
which believers in the theory of inherent immortal- The object of 
ity hold. According to the latter, Christ came, not redem P tion - 
to prolong the period of man’s existence, but to make that exist¬ 
ence fuller, and richer, and nobler than it otherwise could have 
been. He came into the world not merely to save men from 
the suffering which sin entails, but also to save them from sin 
itself. The conditionalist theory makes the mission and work 
of Christ to include the impartation of an immortal element as 
well as a remission of the penalty of transgression. If man ever 
becomes immortal, he does so through the work of Jesus Christ 
and acceptance of Him as a personal Saviour. This belief 
reduces the immortality of man to “ something appended to his 
nature after he believes in Christ.” It makes man merely an 
animal, an animal with great possibilities, it is true, but still as 
liable to perish as the brute. It does not seem reasonable that 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


296 

Christ should have taken upon Himself a nature that had be¬ 
come so degraded as to be subject to utter extinction at death. 
If, so far as the persistence of life is concerned, man had fallen 
to the level of the brute, it seems probable that, without regard 
to character, he would have been allowed to pass out of exist¬ 
ence when the body died. This, according to the conditionalist 
view, would have occurred if Christ had not come into the world. 
Then there would have been no resurrection, or judgment, or 
punishment for the wicked. Death would have been the end 
of all personal, conscious existence. 

Many who hold to the general doctrine of conditionalism 
believe that some souls, which have been extremely wicked, will 
not go out of existence at the judgment, but will 
then receive their sentence of destruction and enter 
upon a period of suffering, the duration of which will be deter¬ 
mined by their deserts. But this does not appear to answer the 
demands of a doctrine which calls for the extinction of being 
as the penalty of sin. If the blotting out of the personal con¬ 
sciousness is punishment, as it is said to be, there seems to be 
no justification for the infliction of suffering preceding the exe¬ 
cution of the penalty. And if suffering is to be continued as 
long as existence remains, the extinction of being will not be 
regarded as an incalculable loss, but will be looked forward to 
with joyful anticipation as an absolute and eternal relief from 
pain. Under such conditions annihilation would be a reward 
instead of a punishment. 

The extinction of being does not seem to be an adequate pun¬ 
ishment for unrepented sin. Yet many conditionalists hold that 
it is sufficient, and that there is no other penalty. Under such 
a law all offenders would be treated alike. The man who failed 
to gain immortality through ignorance, or through want of ear¬ 
nest effort, would be treated in the same manner as one whose 
life had been given to vice and crime. Weakness and wicked¬ 
ness would be treated with an equal degree of severity. This 
does not appear to be just. If extinction of being is not far too 
severe a deprivation for neglect of duty, it certainly cannot be a 
sufficient requital for outrageous wickedness. Besides, if pun¬ 
ishment is to be endured, there must be consciousness. What 
occurs to an individual entirely outside of his knowledge and 
sensibility can have no effect upon him whatever. Suffering is 


ENDLESS EXISTENCE 297 

one of the prime elements of punishment, and when the former 
ceases forever the latter practically comes to an end. 

Much has been said and written upon the question whether 
God can destroy a human soul. Some have held that, on ac¬ 
count of the divine nature of the soul, such an act The possibility of 
would be contrary to the principles of His being, annlhllation - 
and so would be impossible even for God to perform. But it is 
a reasonable supposition that whatever He has created, be it 
matter or spirit, He can destroy. It seems safe to assert that 
nothing which He has brought into being will ever escape from 
His control. I have no doubt that He can, at the final judg¬ 
ment, or at any other period, in time or eternity, by a direct act 
of His will, perhaps by simply withdrawing His sustaining power, 
extinguish the being of any creature He has made. That He 
will ever do this by the method first named, I do not believe. 
Whether or not He will allow a soul to go so far from Himself 
that it will perish for want of His presence, it may not be possi¬ 
ble to prove. But there is a great deal in the Scriptures which 
is strongly opposed to the idea that any human soul will ever 
pass out of conscious existence. 

The doctrine of conditional immortality, as a whole, does not 
appear to be in accordance with the general course of Scripture 
teaching concerning the final condition of the hu- , 

& . 1 1 • 1 r A great truth. 

man soul. But there is one great truth which forms 
an important part of this theory, and which those who range 
themselves with the conditionalists make very prominent, that 
ought to receive a great deal more attention than it does from 
many denominations which reject the doctrine as a whole. This 
is that the only true life of man comes from the voluntary union 
of the soul with God. Existence may be prolonged without it, 
but it is not a good existence. The true, the glorious immor¬ 
tality of the soul comes to man through faith in Jesus Christ. 

19 * 


CHAPTER XIX 


IMMORTALITY OF ANIMALS AND PLANTS 

No consideration of the subject of the persistence of life could 
be regarded as either just, or even approximately adequate, which 
inquiry should be should ignore the question whether there is to be a 
made. future existence for animals and plants. Probably 

the great majority of men who have given the matter careful 
consideration have decided the inquiry in the negative. Com¬ 
paratively few who have written upon the subject have thought 
that a continuance of existence after death was at all probable, 
and many have denied the possibility of a future life for any 
objects or beings lower in the scale of creation than man. Some, 
however, have believed that the higher animals would survive 
death, and a few have gone so far as to claim that life in most, 
if not all, of the forms in which it appears upon the earth will be 
continued elsewhere under more favorable conditions for its 
development. 

In this world there is a very close relationship between man 
and the animal and vegetable creation. He is, in fact, con- 
indispensabie to stantly dependent upon animals and plants for the 
nuw. means of continuing his own life. If deprived of 

them, the whole race would quickly perish from the earth. Not 
only is the physical life of man sustained by these lower orders, 
but they also afford him a great deal of comfort that is not indis¬ 
pensable to a continuance of existence, as well as give him a 
degree of mental pleasure which cannot be estimated. 

Some of the savage tribes manifest a great deal of respect for 
certain kinds of plants and trees. And this feeling does not 
disappear as men ascend in the scale of intelligence. 

Plants and trees. - • i , i r r .1 r r i . 

It is related of one of the most famous of the Asiatic 
monarchs of early times, that he took great pleasure in gazing 
upon an enormous plane-tree. Probably the great majority of 
thoughtful people, even in this busy age, have a deep feeling of 
admiration for unusually beautiful or magnificent specimens 


ENDLESS EXISTENCE 


299 

of plants, and shrubs, and trees. There is something in these 
products of the soil that attracts the attention and elevates the 
thought of the human mind. Many who appear to care but 
little for them are, almost unconsciously, strongly influenced by 
their presence. If these people chance to visit a region that is 
deficient in vegetation, they keenly feel the loss of something 
which had so silently and unobtrusively ministered to their hap¬ 
piness that they had hardly realized the source from which it 
came. The sense of loss and desolation, which they cannot 
shake off, causes them to see more clearly than they have ever 
seen before, the value of these gifts of God which at once pro¬ 
mote the welfare and increase the happiness of man. 

So far as his higher nature is concerned, man is brought into 
far more intimate relations with animals than he is with plants 
and trees. With animals he can have a kind of Friendship with 
friendship and companionship which, in some de- anima,s - 
gree, is reciprocated, and which gives pleasure and comfort, 
and sometimes proves an inspiration to better living. Many 
a child has felt a deep sorrow at the loss of a pet bird or 
animal. Many a man has, without the slightest regard to his 
financial interest, sincerely regretted the loss of an intelligent 
horse or dog, and a still larger number of women have been 
made unhappy by the death of a pet animal. To not a few who 
have sustained such losses, the question has often come, whether 
these objects of care and affection perished when they died. 

In common with mankind, plants and animals have a vital 
principle which is often denominated the soul. The claim has 
been made that this soul comes from the same T he soms of ani- 
source, and is of the same nature, as that of man. ma,s and plants ‘ 
And if the meaning of the word “ soul ” is restricted to vitality, 
the claim must be admitted. The Scriptures teach that there is, 
and there can be, no life apart from God. Science, too, whether 
it accepts or rejects a divine revelation, traces life to a single 
source. It does not matter, so far as this point is concerned, 
whether the various forms of life were developed from one 
original creation, or whether there were, at long intervals, 
repeated impartations of the creative energy which sufficiently 
reinforced the natural process of development to make the work 
complete. The method of its appearance may be accounted for 
in either way, but the source of the life of plants and animals 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


300 

must be found in a power infinitely superior to that which 
inheres in nature, or is possessed by man. That source is God, 
the Maker of the universe, and of all that is therein. 

The fact that the life of the plant came from the same source 
as that of the animal does not prove that plants and animals are 
Plants inferior to of equal importance. There are many wonderful 
animals. things in the life of plants. The evidences of wis¬ 

dom which are shown in their forms, their distribution, their 
adaptation to the conditions of soil and climate, their means 
of propagation, and the relations of the different species and 
varieties to each other, and to other forms of life, are such as to 
convince the thoughtful and unprejudiced mind that they did 
not come by chance, and did not produce themselves. 

All this, however, does not prove that plants, even of the 
highest class, have the power of existence after death. A new 
plant may spring from the roots of one that has decayed, and 
thus appear to replace the one from which it was derived. Then 
the plant seems to have a kind of perpetuity which, so far as 
outward appearances indicate, man does not possess. The 
Patriarch Job felt the force of this comparison when, in his 
meditation upon the brevity of human life, and the indications 
that death will close the term of existence, he exclaimed: — 

“ For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, 

And that the tender branch thereof will not cease. 

Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, 

And the stock thereof die in the ground; 

Yet through the scent of water it will bud, 

And put forth boughs like a plant. 

But man dieth, and wasteth away : 

Yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?” 

The indications that the life principle of the tree is more 
enduring than that of man is superficial, and the faith of the 
patriarch in the immortality of the human soul, which at times 
seemed to waver, increased in clearness and strength. So far as 
individuality is concerned, the tree itself perishes at death. The 
tree that springs from the roots is not the same tree as the one 
which decayed. The original tree has passed out of existence. 

There are those who claim that because all life is from a 
divine source, it must, without regard to form or quality, be im¬ 
mortal, but the arguments which they employ are weak, and the 
evidences which they present are few. The probabilities are 


ENDLESS EXISTENCE 


301 

overwhelmingly against them. The tree, the shrub, the plant, 
and the flower are beautiful and useful, but they are not to 
abide. In the new home, which man will occupy after death, 
there may be, and probably will be, a magnificent development 
of plant life. We can hardly doubt that 

“ Sweet fields arrayed in living green ” 

will far surpass the most beautiful landscapes upon which the 
eye of man has ever rested, or of which mortal has ever dreamed.* 
But the beautiful flowers, the luxuriant vegetation, the graceful 
trees that adorn the hills and the plains, and the majestic mon- 
archs of the forests, will not be survivals of earthly forms but 
entirely new creations. 

In the case of animals there is a marked advance upon plant 
life. The source of life is the same, it is true, but the capacities 
and powers of the plant are not to be compared with Higher organsza- 
those of the animal. The latter is far more highly tion of animala - 
organized; it can move from place to place; it has sensibilities 
which in the plant are almost wholly wanting; and, what is im¬ 
measurably above all these points of superiority, it has intelli¬ 
gence. In some individuals of certain classes this mental power 
is quite remarkable. Ignorant people, whose minds have never 
been trained, have often been greatly impressed by the sagacity 
of animals, and not a few unenlightened ones have made “ birds 
and four-footed beasts” objects of worship. The believers in 
the doctrine of transmigration also reverence them because they 
hold that the bodies of animals are often inhabited by human 
souls. 

There are many, in all, who think that, on account of the 
source from which their life was drawn, and the powers which 
they manifest, the nobler animals at least will sur- Whysom ehope 
vive the event of death. The reason first named can ^Zeufe)^ 
have but little weight. Because God is the source animals - 
of all life it does not follow that all life will be equally persistent. 
It is neither necessary nor reasonable to suppose that if He 
made man immortal He must also have given to the horse and 
the dog the power of endless existence. There is abundant 
evidence that He made man for a very different purpose from 
that for which He created the horse and the dog. Then, too, 
the life of the lower animals was derived from the same source 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


302 

as was that of the higher classes, and, for all that man can know, 
is just as dear to one class as it is to the other. If those that 
belong to one class are to survive death, justice would seem to 
require that those of the other class should receive the same 
favor. The weak should be cared for as well as the strong. 
We claim immortality for man, not because he is at the head of 
the animal creation, or for his nobility as an animal, but because 
he is a great deal more than an animal. For, unlike the beast, 
man was made in the image of God. 

The other reason, though to many it will not seem to be con¬ 
clusive, should be considered more at length. Some of the 
higher animals possess faculties which make them exceedingly 
interesting, and in many cases useful to man. There are people 
who claim that these creatures have the same mental character¬ 
istics as mankind. A recent writer asserts that “ all animals, 
in common with ourselves, possess the power of reasoning, 
although in a less degree. It is by the superiority of our reason 
over theirs that we maintain our supremacy. False premises 
often lead to wrong deductions, but their process is still one of 
pure reason .” 1 This broad claim comparatively few people 
would admit. The great majority of those who are competent 
to offer an opinion upon the subject would, with the possible 
exception of a few of the higher classes, limit the intellectual 
powers of animals to instinct which, though a wonderful posses¬ 
sion, is far inferior to reason. 

Every observer of animals is aware that they are intelligent. 
In the higher classes we find creatures which can fully un- 
irteiiigence of derstand expressions of praise or blame, which are 
animals. industrious, and which in some degree have the 

power of connected thought and the faculty of memory. In 
the provision for, and protection of, their young, many animals, 
both among the wild and the domesticated, show an almost 
human intelligence. This may be largely instinctive; but nu¬ 
merous reports, which were undoubtedly true, have been pub¬ 
lished which show that some animals at least possess a good 
deal of mental power that is quite apart from instinct. There 
have been many cases in which horses could distinguish Sunday 
from other days of the week. Some animals have been known 
to count correctly the number of loads to be drawn in a day, or 

1 Thomas G. Gentry, Life and Immortality. 


ENDLESS EXISTENCE 


303 

keep in mind some other incident relating to the work in which 
they were regularly employed. 

In one of his books in which he writes briefly of the prospect 
of a continued existence for animals, Dr. Nichols tells of a horse 
that he owned which, every morning, for some weeks, A remarhable 
obtained the privilege of standing in the stable instance - 
twenty or thirty minutes longer than he should have done. 
This was accomplished by a scheme which showed considerable 
ingenuity, combined with a deliberate purpose to deceive. It 
was the custom of the coachman to feed the horse in the morn¬ 
ing, g° own breakfast, and when that was finished return 

and take the horse out for use on the road. It was necessary 
at one time to do this at an earlier hour than usual. When the 
coachman returned to the barn he found that the horse was, 
apparently, still eating, and he waited for some time for the meal 
to be finished. This was repeated until it became quite trouble¬ 
some ; and, in order to break the horse of what was supposed 
to be a habit of eating too slowly, the coachman was directed to 
put on the harness as soon as he returned to the stable. Upon 
going into the stall to do this, the coachman found that, although 
the horse appeared to be eating, there was no food in the 
manger. Morning after morning the horse had been practicing 
a trick in order to gain a little time from his working hours . 1 

Probably every reader of this work has seen descriptions, and 
most, if not all, have witnessed examples of intelligence on the 
part of animals which were both curious and inter- Results of train- 
esting. The cunning which is exhibited by wild lng - 
animals of the classes which have been hunted by man, and 
which have consequently become wary, is often remarkable. 
Sometimes these creatures seem to adapt the means which they 
employ to the ends which they wish to serve, almost as well as 
they could be chosen by man himself, and not infrequently such 
animals circumvent the best laid human plans for their capture 
or destruction. 

It is, however, with domestic animals that the closest approach 
to the use of reason may be seen. Individuals are to be found 
among various classes of animals which are a great deal more 
intelligent than are the vast majority of their kind. When these 
specially gifted animals are properly trained, they show a sur- 

1 J. R. Nichols, M. D., Whence , What, Where t 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


304 

prising degree of mental power and skill. Horses, dogs, cats, 
and even pigs have been taught to do things which required a 
considerable development of intellect to enable them to under¬ 
stand how the processes were to be carried on. Such animals 
must be able to follow certain trains of thought, and to remem¬ 
ber distinctly many and diverse things. Then, too, several 
classes of animals, as the horse, the ox, and the elephant have 
not only been taught to work, but in numberless cases they 
have manifested a great deal of intelligent interest in its per¬ 
formance. Sometimes they seem to understand what is needed 
to advance the work in which they are engaged, and to use 
mental powers of almost the same nature as those of man in 
avoiding obstacles or removing obstructions to its progress. 

Another endowment of animals is the power of communicat¬ 
ing with each other. This is particularly noticeable in the cases 
ne power of com- of dogs and of certain kinds of birds, though it is by 
munication. n o means confined to these classes of creatures. It 
is also possible for some of these animals, by means of various 
sounds and gestures, to make many of their wants known to 
man, and they are able to understand much that he says to 
them. If this power of communication with man, and of under¬ 
standing his language to some extent, were wanting, the domes¬ 
tication of animals and their training for industrial purposes 
would be impossible. The fact that they possess this power is 
a clear indication that one of the objects of their creation was 
that they might be of service to man. 

Affection, too, is a marked trait of the character of many ani¬ 
mals. Cases in which horses have become strongly attached to 
Affection and kind masters, and in which they have recognized 
fidelity. their former owners after a separation of several 

years, are numerous. Through the Prophet Isaiah God sharply 
reproached His ancient people for being less grateful than the 
common brutes. “ Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for 
the Lord hath spoken: I have nourished and brought up chil¬ 
dren, and they have rebelled against me. The ox knoweth his 
owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, 
my people doth not consider.” There have been cases innu¬ 
merable in which brutes have been more kind to men than men 
have been to their fellows, and more faithful to their owners than 
their owners have been to God. 


SPOILS OF THE TEMPLE AT THE CAPTURE OF JERUSALEM 
















































































































\ 








ENDLESS EXISTENCE 


305 

Of all the animals the dog is, probably, the most devoted to 
man. In prosperity and adversity he is equally faithful to his 
master. The man who has gravitated to the bottom of the social 
scale finds the fidelity of his dog in marked contrast with the 
treatment which he receives from most of the men whom he had 
known in better days. And sometimes it seems as though the 
man had become more of a brute than the dog, that remained 
faithful to him through want and suffering, and not infrequently 
through downright abuse, had ever been. Many other animals 
also show a marked attachment to those who care for them, and 
even half savage beasts have been known to remember kindness 
for many years. 

The qualities which have been noted are said, by those who 
hold that animals as well as men are immortal, to prove that the 
beast has powers which do not become fully devel- /nances from 
oped in this world. It is claimed that the endow- similarit y- 
ment of the animal, like that of man, is greater than is needed 
for the brief life that is passed here, and that its faculties seem 
to have been given with reference to a wider range of expe¬ 
riences than those of earth. It is said that arguments of this 
kind are used to sustain the doctrine of the future existence of 
men, and that these arguments should count just as strongly for 
the lower orders of creation as they do for the highest one. 

It is also claimed that whatever indications of a future life for 
man are supplied by physiology are equally significant with refer¬ 
ence to the brutes. The chemical constituents of the physical 
frame are the same in each. No element appears in man that is 
not found in all animals of the great class of mammals to which 
he belongs. The processes of waste and repair of the body are 
the same, and the periods which cover the growth, maturity, and 
decline of the body, though varying in length, are as clearly 
marked in the one as they are in the other. Like man, too, the 
beast retains its identity through the changes which, every few 
years, replace the body with another which is similar in appear¬ 
ance although it is composed of entirely different particles of 
matter. 

While there are various ways in which the animal resembles 
man, there are many others in which there is a wide Qreat differ- 
dissimilarity. And the differences are so great as to ences ' 
lead to the conviction that the variation is one of kind, and not 


20 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


306 

merely one of degree. They are different ord'ers : of beings. 
There is no method of education, and no kind of training, by 
means of which the noblest animal can be converted into a man. 
The line of demarcation is too wide to be crossed. No mere 
animal can become a man, and no man can entirely divest him¬ 
self of the attributes of humanity. 

Differences between men and animals appear very early in 
life. At birth the human being is far more helpless than the 
animal. The little child is the most ignorant of 

In early life. 0 

creatures, and unless cared for by some one stronger 
and wiser than itself will surely perish. “ The chicken, the kit¬ 
ten, the puppy, and the pig are brighter, more intelligent, and 
less dependent at birth than the human babe. If we should 
judge by comparison in the first six months, we should say that 
the brute is the superior animal .” 1 But in a few years all this is 
changed. The creature that was so feeble at birth has obtained 
dominion over all the animals that were then so much more 
vigorous than himself. His advance has been so rapid, and his 
superiority has become so great, as to give the strongest of rea¬ 
sons for believing that he is of a far higher rank than any of the 
mere animals with which he shares the earth. 

We have seen that animals have the power of communicating 
with each other, and with man, but this power is very limited. 
They have nothing that can properly be called a language. 
Language They instinctively use certain signs and signals, but 
they do not add to the number or increase the 
efficiency of those with which they have been familiar all their 
lives. But man, even in his lowest form, has a spoken language. 
As he rises in the scale of intelligence he adds the use of written 
characters to his means of communication. He enlarges his 
vocabulary, and systematizes his phraseology, until his language 
is made an almost perfect means of expressing his thoughts and 
feelings. Thus he becomes able to communicate, not only with 
men who are within sound of his voice, but also with those 
who are in remote parts of the world. He has so perfected 
his means of intercourse that one can carry on conversation with 
another who is hundreds of miles away, and can, with the speed 
of the lightning, flash his messages under the sea and make 
known his desires to people who are in distant lands. Such 

* R‘. B. Westbrook, D. Eh, Man — Whence and Whither?' 


ENDLESS EXISTENCE 


307 

power is not only immeasurably greater than is that which is 
possessed by the animal, but it is of a vastly superior quality. 
The difference is so great that it forces the conviction that the 
superiority of man to the beast is marked by the kind as truly as 
it is by the magnitude of the endowment. 

Another vast difference between man and the animal is seen 
in the means which they use to accomplish their purposes. The 
beast uses just what has been provided by nature. TooIsand 
But man does not stop here. He shows a wonderful machlnes - 
power in the construction of tools and machines. The lowest 
races of men invent various implements with which to secure 
certain desired ends, and cultivated man has attained marvelous 
skill in this direction. The work of the animal is remarkable, 
considering the limited means by which it is accomplished, but 
it seems insignificant when we turn from it to the products of 
the great mills and factories which are erected by man, and are 
filled with ingenious and complicated machinery. 

Then, too, man secures dominion over the animals themselves, 
and impresses them into his service. They cannot resist his 
will. He also brings the great powers of nature Natural forces 
under his control, and makes them do his bidding. and P roducts - 
Yet he has never had a monopoly of these forces. Air, and 
water, and fire, and steam, and electricity have always been as 
free to the animal as they have to man. The same is true of 
coal, and iron, and the many other valuable substances which 
the earth supplies to the intelligent and patient toiler. But the 
beast is of too low an order of being to either comprehend the 
value or to be able to utilize these forces and products, which 
man uses with magnificent results for the promotion of his com¬ 
fort and the advancement of his enterprises. 

In the case of man, one generation passes on to its successor 
all of its stores of knowledge. Though each individual child is 
born as helpless as was any of its predecessors, yet Accumulated 
he will soon have access to the accumulated wisdom know ' ed 
of past ages which will give him the means with which to make 
still further progress. History records vast advances which have 
been made by various races of men, but in the lines of mental 
development, and the power of accomplishing definite purposes, 
there is no evidence of advance in any class of animals. By 
selection and breeding man has produced changes which have 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


308 

made domestic animals more useful to himself, but he has not so 
enlarged their mental capacity that they can make use of know¬ 
ledge which was obtained by their predecessors. Each animal 
begins where every other animal of its class began, and each is 
obliged to make its own way without reference to what any 
other one has accomplished. 

Animals differ widely from men in the possibilities of pro¬ 
gress. In man these appear to be unlimited. The more he 
ne end of learns the greater becomes his anxiety to learn still 
progress. more. And each new acquisition of knowledge de¬ 

velops and strengthens his intellect, and thus gives him the 
power to still further increase his mental stores. But nothing 
of this kind is seen in the animal world. The animals which 
delight people with the tricks which they perform have all been 
trained by men. They have been carefully, patiently, and per¬ 
sistently taught to perform their special parts. And, in all such 
cases, where these parts end the manifestation of an extraor¬ 
dinary degree of intelligence ceases. Man, after a comparatively 
few lessons, can go on by himself, but the animal can go no 
farther than the teacher goes with him. And man can be 
taught, and can teach himself, at any period of his life. He can 
learn more readily in youth, but he can make great intellectual 
progress in middle life and even after he reaches a somewhat 
advanced age. But whatever the animal is to learn must be 
taught to it while it is young. It is exceedingly difficult, and in 
many cases it is useless to attempt, to teach it after the period 
of growth has been passed. 

In respect to the degree of perfection of the work that is done, 
there is a great difference between men and animals. Man is 
constantly increasing the excellence of his products. In every¬ 
thing that he makes there is an effort to improve. In almost 
every department of his industry the product is a great deal 
better than it was a hundred years ago. This is not true of the 
animal. The bee makes a wonderfully perfect cell, but just as 
perfect ones were made by bees thousands of years ago. The 
skill of the beaver in constructing its house is almost marvelous, 
but it is no greater than that which was exhibited by beavers in 
the early ages of the world. But since his first rude homes 
were constructed the habitations of man have been most won¬ 
derfully improved. And this improvement has come as the 


ENDLESS EXISTENCE 


309 

result of thought, and study, and of costly and oft repeated 
experiment. Man is still constantly striving to improve the 
appearance and increase the convenience of his home, but the 
animal builds just as all animals of its class have been building 
for thousands of years. The skill of the animal is inherited, 
and it remains the same from generation to generation. Man 
adds to, and improves upon, the inheritance that he has received. 

In their manner of life, and the way in which they regard 
their stay upon earth, there is an immense difference between 
animals and men. The beast is easily satisfied. If An!mal life on a 
it has plenty of food and drink, is not made uncom- l 0 W P lane - 
fortable by heat or cold, and is not disturbed by enemies, its 
happiness seems to be complete. It does not look back upon 
the past, and it appears to have no longing for anything beyond 
the present state of existence. It does not attempt to improve 
upon its condition. So far as man can judge it has no aspira¬ 
tions for a nobler form of life. It knows nothing of what con¬ 
stitute the higher pleasures of man. Poetry, art, and literature 
are unknown terms, and music is cared for by comparatively few 
animals, and by them in only a small degree. And animals 
have no high aims or noble purposes. They are contented with 
this life, and, with the exception of a few classes, they seem to 
answer, here and now, the full intent for which they were 
created. But man, although he may have fallen to a low state, 
is never satisfied. Even when his life is a degraded one, he 
sometimes hears a voice within which tells him that he is not 
living up to his privileges, that he is not just to himself, or to 
the God who sent him into the world for a nobler purpose and 
a higher destiny. 

Another great difference between the brute and man is seen 
in the purposes for which they unite their efforts. Animals 
often go in bands for defense against a common foe. 

~ , *11 r 1 .. . . Associated effort. 

Sometimes, in herds of domestic animals, one or 
more will rush to the aid of a member that has been assailed by 
an unexpected enemy, though more frequently all who can do 
so will make their escape. But wild animals often turn upon 
and destroy one of their number that has been badly injured, 
though this is probably done in order to protect the herd from 
beasts of prey which might follow it if partially disabled animals 
were allowed to go with it and retard its progress. In any 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


310 

case the united effort is for purely protective purposes. It is 
prompted by selfishness. 

Men, also, form many organizations which are solely for the 
protection of their members against certain evils. But they 
have a multitude of others which are designed to promote the 
mental and moral improvement of all who belong to them. 
Then, too, there are the many associations for the benefit of the 
public at large, and others which are established for the purpose 
of giving care and assistance to the sick, the weak, and the un¬ 
fortunate. These are maintained at an enormous expense of 
money, labor, and time. They represent a vast amount of effort 
for the good of others, and in numberless cases the sacrifice is 
made, and the effort is put forth, for the benefit of total stran¬ 
gers. Of such disinterested association, animals are ignorant. 

Another difference between animals and men is seen in their 
attitude towards death. The instinct of self-preservation is 
ne thought of strong in the brute, and causes him to make des- 
death * perate efforts to escape a deadly foe. But this in¬ 

stinct is aroused only when there is real or supposed danger. 
At other periods, until that of extreme age, the animal seems to 
have no thought that life must come to an end. When the 
weakness which precedes dissolution comes on, animals of cer¬ 
tain classes seek a secluded place in which to die. There ap¬ 
pears to be neither fear nor anxiety. There are no regrets for 
the past and no looking forward to either good or ill in the 
future. 

Man, however, has always the knowledge that death stands in 
his path. At times he may seem to be indifferent, but often the 
truth that he must die presses upon him with a terrible weight. 
He endeavors to postpone the issue as long as possible, but he 
is fully aware that the time will come when no skill or power of 
man can stay the hand of death. Not only in times of apparent 
peril, but at all periods, he is conscious that the decree has gone 
forth, and that, sooner or later, he will be compelled to depart 
this life. During a large part of his active career he is looking 
forward to, and in various ways endeavoring to prepare for, the 
close of his earthly existence. 

There is an equally marked difference in the conduct of men 
and animals when they are in the actual presence of death. 
Man sadly and solemnly, and often with impressive ceremonies, 


ENDLESS EXISTENCE 


3” 

buries his dead. He regards the last resting-place of their dust 
as sacred ground. At the graves of his loved ones he erects 
permanent memorials, and as long as his own life is spared he 
cherishes the memory of the departed. But all of this is foreign 
to the nature of the brute. Unless it be for the purpose of pro¬ 
tecting the living from the attacks of flesh-eating enemies, ani¬ 
mals do not bury, or attempt to conceal, the bodies of those that 
die. They never build tombs, or place any distinguishing mark 
at the place where a dead body rests. And, except in the cases 
of some individuals of the higher classes, they at once forget 
those of their kind which have perished. This clearly shows 
that the difference between men and animals, as regards care 
for and remembrance of the dead, is not one of the development 
or want of development of certain faculties, but is due to the 
fact that one has been endowed with powers which the other 
does not possess. 

Great as are the differences that have been named, the su¬ 
preme divergence is found in the fact that the animal has no 
moral or religious nature. We have seen that, in No moral or 
common with man, animals have mental powers. reli 9 ious nature. 
The mind of the animal is not nearly as complete in its func¬ 
tions, or as clear and vigorous in its operations, as is that of 
man. But, as far as it goes, it seems to partake of the same 
nature as the human mind. 

In the moral realm the case is wholly different. The animal 
knows nothing of responsibility. In the Middle Ages beasts 
were tried, condemned, and executed for destroying human life. 
Such proceedings did not attract a great deal of attention, or 
cause any special criticism, in that dark period of human history, 
but in these enlightened days they would be justly regarded as 
idiotic or insane performances. We know that man in his most 
degraded state has the power of choosing either the right or the 
wrong. And because he has this power to obey or to disobey 
the law of the land, society holds him accountable for his acts. 
The lawbreaker knows, just as well as any one else, that he 
deserves to be punished for his crimes. But when an animal 
injures man, or destroys property, the act has no moral quality. 
The beast is ignorant and irresponsible. 

To man, the life that now is presents itself as a period of pro¬ 
bation, and he looks forward to something in the nature of an 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


312 

examination into his conduct, and a judgment that shall bring 
probation and him a reward for good or a punishment for evil. Of 
judgment. this the an i ma l j s entirely ignorant. Its horizon is 
bounded by the little round of its earthly existence. It has 
neither fear nor thought of anything that may await it beyond 
its present state of being. 

Then, too, the more specific religious instinct, which in some 
degree is possessed by the lowest man, is absent in the highest 
ne idea of God hrute. The savage races of mankind have their 

gods, and barbarous peoples observe rude forms of 
worship. Here we have, without doubt, “ something distinctively 
human, and not shared in any definite form by even the best 
developed of the lower animals.” The animals do various things 
which show that they are intelligent, “ but never do we see any¬ 
where among them the notion of the Divine.” 1 

Not only this, but it is impossible to teach an animal about 
God. Uncivilized men can grasp religious ideas without special 
difficulty, but it is as impracticable to teach the most intelligent 
animal about its Creator as it is to get the idea of worship into 
a stone. Man was made in the image of God, and to some ex¬ 
tent has the power of comprehending His nature and purposes. 
The beast was created on a lower scale, and with powers which, 
in number and in quality, are not to be compared to those with 
which man is endowed. 

Some writers have thought that the Scriptures distinctly teach 
that animals perish at death. Others claim that this view is 
The teaching of based upon a mistaken interpretation of the pas- 
scnpture. sages upon which such a doctrine is based, and that 

the real meaning is directly opposed to the one which has been 
placed upon them. If taken literally, some of the passages 
which are quoted in behalf of the theory that animals cannot 
have a future life would be conclusive. Believers in the doc¬ 
trine of the conditional immortality of the human soul insist that 
these statements are to be received without qualification. The 
brutes perish and, therefore, pass out of existence at death. 
Man, being closely allied to the beast, and having no inherent 
immortality, must, in the same manner and from the same cause, 
cease to be. This claim has been considered at some length in 
the preceding chapter, and the arguments do not need to be 

1 D. G. Brinton, Religions of Primitive Peoples. 


ENDLESS EXISTENCE 


313 

repeated. But it must be remembered that the immortality of 
man is not dependent upon the continued life of mere animals. 
Man may survive even though the brute perishes. 

Many scholars give to the passages of Scripture which some 
claim teach the annihilation of unregenerate humanity, and all 
of the lower animals, an interpretation which indicates that man 
will certainly survive the event of death. They also assert that 
there is nothing that is really decisive to be learned in respect 
to what the termination of the present life will bring to the 
brute. It has been suggested that the phrase in the forty-ninth 
Psalm, which, in both the King James and the Revised Version, 
reads “ like the beasts that perish,” should be changed to “ like 
the beasts that are irrational.” Various other modifications of 
Scripture statement and explanation have also been made which, 
while they do not prove that there will be a future existence for 
animals, tend to break the force of some of the principal objec¬ 
tions to this doctrine which were drawn from the Bible. 

Another point, and one which does not seem to have had as 
much attention as it deserved, has reference to the relative value 
of human and animal life. The Scriptures declare Re i ative value of 
that human life is sacred. To take it intentionally, ///e * 
except as an act of justice, or in the prosecution of some object 
that has all the urgency of an imperative duty, is a crime for 
which the only adequate penalty is death. But God gave man 
permission to slay animals for food, and their slaughter for sacri¬ 
fice was for thousands of years an important feature of the Jew¬ 
ish religion. 

Human laws and customs make a similar distinction between 
the life of the man and that of the beast. Even in the dense 
darkness of superstition and idolatry, where the life of man is 
considered of but little worth, it still has a greater value than 
the life of an animal. The killing of an animal causes no com¬ 
ment, but if a man is slain his relatives, or members of the tribe 
to which he belongs, are very likely to avenge the wrong. In 
civilized lands the life of man is jealously guarded. Unless it is 
done in self-defense, the defense of others, or while endeavoring 
to carry out a legal order, the killing of a man who is notori¬ 
ously wicked, and who is a menace to society and a disgrace to 
his kind, is regarded as murder, and where the circumstances 
are such as to justify the taking of life, the man who kills an- 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


3H 

other must answer to a properly constituted court for his deed. 
When a good citizen is the victim of a murderous assault, or 
women or children are killed, the crime is, by common consent, 
regarded as one of the greatest enormity. But, if it is humanely 
done, no such guilt attaches to the destruction of animal life. 
The man who owns a beast has a legal right to end its exist¬ 
ence. If the animal belongs to another, the man who kills it 
can be punished for destroying property, just as he can be for 
damaging buildings or other inanimate objects. It is a matter 
of finance. Whatever damage is done must be paid for. No 
such settlement can be made for the destruction of human life. 
The life of man is too sacred to be regarded as property. No 
amount of money can compensate for its loss. 

Those who hold that animals are immortal are greatly per¬ 
plexed by the question whether all animals are to have a con- 
Thetineof tinued existence, or whether this privilege will be 
demarcation. restricted to the higher classes, and perhaps among 
these be limited to the nobler specimens. The man who pleads 
that the beast should have a future life because it is possessed 
of an immaterial principle which enables him to think and act, 
and thus allies him with man, makes a claim that includes fero¬ 
cious beasts, venomous serpents, and annoying insects, as truly 
as it does the docile and harmless classes of animals. Upon this 
basis the lion is as fully entitled to immortality as is the horse, 
and the hyena has as good a claim as the dog. But so far as 
man is concerned, the future existence of vicious and noxious 
animals can hardly be considered desirable. It appears as 
though his happiness would be better promoted by their extinc¬ 
tion than it could be by their preservation. 

The suggestion has been made that instead of the possession 
of intellect the quality of usefulness, or the capacity for advance- 
Usefuiness as a ment, should be the test of an existence after death. 
test of survival, Thi s a pp ears to be a much more reasonable basis 
than the other for the doctrine of the immortality of animals, 
though it is very far from proving that merely animal life can 
continue after the organism in which it was manifested has per¬ 
ished. It is possible, too, that eventually there will be a change 
in the nature of animals which will make all classes either useful 
or pleasing to man. There may be a literal fulfillment of the 
prophecy that “ the wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and 


ENDLESS EXISTENCE 


315 

the lion shall eat straw like the ox: and dust shall be the ser¬ 
pent’s meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy 
mountain, saith the Lord.” Perhaps when the evils of sin shall 
be rooted out, and the original relations of man with the natural 
world shall be restored, the beasts of prey will become harmless, 
and the warfare which they have waged against animals and 
men with such persistence and malignity will forever come to 
an end. 

That here and now animals are necessary to the comfort of 
man, and that they add greatly to his pleasure as well as increase 
his material prosperity, is plain to every one. How Desirab , elna 
it will be in the higher life which it is believed that hi9her llfe - 
the good will enjoy after they have been called away from earth 
is, necessarily, a matter of conjecture. It seems, however, that 
if man is to retain his personality, the presence of animals of the 
classes with which he has had kindly relations on earth would 
add greatly to his pleasure in his new home. And we have rea¬ 
son to believe that the Father who has been so beneficent to 
His children while they were here will not allow them to want 
for anything that is necessary to their comfort there. It is possi¬ 
ble, however, and the evidence seems to be to the effect that it 
is probable, that the animals which are to minister to man in his 
future life will be new creations, rather than the identical ones 
which have lived and died on the earth. 

Some of the Oriental philosophers taught that when plants 
and animals die their life principle does not perish, but takes on 
a higher form. Thus it may persist through various The , aw of 
crises, and continue to increase in power and im- aduancement 
prove in quality for an unlimited period. Some modern think¬ 
ers have given a qualified assent to this doctrine. It may be 
true that this life is but the beginning of an ascending scale of 
being. The law of God is a law of advancement, and it is possi¬ 
ble that this law reaches farther and deeper than it has been 
supposed to apply. There may be great surprises for us along 
this line. In the world to come we may find not only that ani¬ 
mals have survived, but that there has been as great an improve¬ 
ment in their life, and in the conditions under which that life is 
to be passed, as there has been in the case of man. It seems 
more reasonable to suppose that such will be the case than it 
is to expect that animals will pass from this world to the next 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


316 

without any decided improvement in their rank and increase of 
their endowments. 

Every day there is an incalculable amount of suffering in the 
animal world. And a large part of this suffering comes upon 
The problem of creatures that are harmless and inoffensive. A 
suffering. great deal, too, is inflicted by careless or cruel men 

upon the domestic animals which, for some inexplicable reason, 
have been given into their power. Why this should be per¬ 
mitted, or why suffering should come to any creatures that are 
destitute of moral perceptions, is a dark problem. 

Much of the suffering of man is due to the violation of laws 
which are either known or can be ascertained. Then, too, in 
the case of man, pain may be a means of great spiritual improve¬ 
ment, both to the sufferer and to those who are connected with 
him. This does not, by any means, offer an adequate explana¬ 
tion of human misery, but it does give a little light upon one of 
the darkest phases of human experience. 

In the case of the brute creation we cannot fall back even 
upon this meagre explanation. We know that terrible suffering 
exists. We do not know why. Much of it comes in the strug¬ 
gle for existence. It is true that the survival of the strongest is 
a benefit to the classes of animals, and in many cases inciden¬ 
tally to man. But this leaves us as much in the dark as ever. 
We cannot see why this improvement of the species should in¬ 
volve so much suffering to the weaker individuals. We do see 
that progress is purchased at an enormous cost, and that multi¬ 
tudes of the creatures which appear to be in need of protection 
are ruthlessly destroyed. 

There are scriptural reasons for supposing that in some way 
this suffering of animals is connected with the sin of man, and 
connection with that when the higher race comes into full harmony 
the sin of man. w ith God the suffering of the lower creation will 
cease. Doubtless this thought was in the mind of the Apostle 
Paul when he wrote that “ the earnest expectation of the crea¬ 
tion waiteth for the revealing of the sons of God. For the crea¬ 
tion was subjected to vanity, not of its own will, but by reason 
of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also 
shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the lib¬ 
erty of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the 
whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until 


ENDLESS EXISTENCE 


317 

now.” Here we have a plain indication that the perfection of 
man will be an inestimable blessing to every living creature and 
thing, and that even the inanimate world will share in the glory 
that shall then be revealed. Still, we do not find an answer to 
the question why animals are compelled to suffer now. Why 
they should suffer for the sin of man we cannot comprehend. 
Upon this great fact of the apparently undeserved and unrecom¬ 
pensed suffering, not a few very intelligent people base a belief 
that animals will have another and a better life. 

A lesson which reason and revelation unite in teaching is 
that animals, though greatly inferior to man, are, in common 
with him, the creatures of God. Because of this 0ur duty t0 ani . 
relationship and the connection of their suffering mals - 
with the sin of man, all which are not pernicious should be 
treated kindly. For the welfare of those that are committed to 
his care man is responsible, and for any injury that is done them 
unnecessarily an account will surely be required. Whether or 
not he meets them in another state of being, he will be obliged 
to answer for any unjust treatment of them of which he has 
been guilty here. 

The services which domestic animals cheerfully render should 
lead their owners to endeavor, in all reasonable ways, to pro¬ 
mote their comfort. It is true that, while many are negligent 
or abusive, many other persons are kind to the animals that ren¬ 
der them service or give them pleasure. Occasionally, too, an 
effort is made to perpetuate the memory of those that have died. 
A remarkable illustration of such an effort has been furnished 
by the Japanese, who have publicly recognized the value of the 
services of horses in the late war with China by erecting a 
monument in honor of those that were slain. It would be well 
for all the nations, Christian as well as those which have not 
come under the influence of a pure religion, if the kindly sen¬ 
timent and generous spirit which prompted this public tribute 
to noble and useful animals were diffused throughout the world. 

When we seek a decisive answer to the question whether the 
animals which have been our pets or our servants here perish at 
death, we find that our search is in vain. However _ 

. rr . . The question of a 

earnest and persistent our efforts may be, they are future existence 
always baffled. With but slight qualification we can unanawered ‘ 
adopt the conclusion of a careful student, that “ the inquiry as 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


318 

to the continuance of animal life after death is overshadowed by 
a cloud so profoundly dark one cannot take a single step over 
the border line into this field of research.” 1 

Nature does not furnish adequate proof that a mere animal 
can survive the event of death. Neither does she fully demon¬ 
strate that its existence ends in this world. The same may be 
said of revelation. The Bible does not seem to offer much sup¬ 
port to the assertion that animals will have a future life, though 
I am not sure that such an existence is expressly denied. 

The general tenor of what can be learned from all available 
sources of information is not favorable to the doctrine that the 
existence of animals will be continued after death. The proba¬ 
bilities are that such life will cease in this world. Yet it is 
neither wise nor safe to assert that this will be the case. Per¬ 
haps in the new home of man there will be a place for our ani¬ 
mal friends. We cannot tell until we cross the line which sepa¬ 
rates the seen from the unseen. For some good reason the 
knowledge we desire has neither been imparted to us nor placed 
within our reach. But we may be sure that the loving care of 
God is over all of His works, that His purposes are wise and 
beneficent, and that whether our hopes regarding the future of 
the animals to which we have become attached are fulfilled or 
disappointed, His goodness will not fail. And if we do not in 
this respect obtain just what we choose, we need not doubt that 
in its place we shall receive a higher blessing than the one 
which we desired. 

1 Dr. J. R. Nichols, Whence, What, Where ? 


PART V 

THE LIFE BEYOND 


CHAPTER XX 

BEHIND THE VEIL 

It is thought that sufficient evidence has been presented to 
warrant a belief that the soul does not perish at death. Man 
was made for higher ends than he can attain, and 

, i - ,/«ii . i • i i If life continues. 

nobler purposes than he can fulfill, in this world. 

He leaves here with mighty powers and vast capacities which 
he has had but little time to cultivate, and but slight opportunity 
to employ. His real development has but little more than com¬ 
menced when he is called away by death. 

It is not reasonable to suppose that the God who made man 
as the crowning work of His marvelous creation will allow him 
to perish before he has more than crossed the threshold of a 
useful existence. As far as we can judge by appearances, we 
are justified in saying that even the wisest and best of men 
have only made a mere beginning of the vast work which they 
are competent to do, when they are removed by death. We can¬ 
not believe that God would be so regardless of the immense pos¬ 
sibilities of man as to limit this development, and the exercise of 
his great moral and spiritual powers, to the brief period which 
he is allowed to spend in the present world. These, and other 
arguments which have been stated in the preceding pages, are 
so fully sustained by revelation as to make it far more reason¬ 
able to believe that the human soul will live after death than it 
is to doubt the reality of a future life. 

No argument will be needed to prove that if the individual 
survives the great event of death he will enter at 

... .. rr «. . f . A great change. 

once upon widely different conditions from those 

under which he has lived in this world. The body, which thus 



LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


320 

far has been the medium of communication with what was out¬ 
side of his own mind, is wholly laid aside* So far as the senses 
are concerned, the dead have vanished. The places in which 
they lived and moved will know them no more. If they ever 
return it will be in silence, and with no outward manifestation 
of their presence. 

So far as our physical senses can indicate, the dead are as 
truly separated from the living as though they had been annihi¬ 
lated. The body disappears, and with it, indeed, before the dis¬ 
integration of the physical organism begins, all that gave vigor 
and life to the physical frame has vanished. The intellectual 
and spiritual elements, which made the real person whom we 
knew, have either been destroyed by death, have entered a long 
period of unconsciousness, or are now in a state of existence of 
which the character and surroundings are of an altogether dif¬ 
ferent nature from those with which he was familiar here. 

It is natural that we should desire to learn what awaits the 
soul upon its separation from the body. Our hearts often prompt 
concerning our us to make the inquiry. Many of our loved ones 
friends. have given us their last farewells on earth and have 

gone out into the unseen and the unknown. Where are they 
now? How does it fare with them? Shall we ever see them 
again ? These are questions which are prompted by a love that 
is, perhaps, even stronger than that which we had for our dear 
ones while we were together upon the earth. They are inquiries 
which cannot be kept from our minds. It is not idle curiosity 
which prompts us to study the condition of departed souls. It 
is a duty to remember our dead. It is both a duty and a privi¬ 
lege to learn what we can concerning their present place and 
state. 

Not only do we feel a deep anxiety regarding others, but we 
have an intense interest in this subject as it affects ourselves. 
as regards Each of us, without a single exception, is on the way 
ourselves. to the s t a t e anc j pi ace 0 f the dead. How it will fare 
with us when we enter what we now call the unseen realm is a 
matter of infinite concern. With few, if any, exceptions, all men 
feel this at times, though many do not wish to have it known 
that they are anxious about the hereafter. Then, too, there are 
many who, while admitting the supreme importance of the sub¬ 
ject, assert that we do not know, and from the nature of the case 


RUINS OF THE BASILICA OF CONSTANTINE, ROME. THE TEMPLE OF PEACE.” 


































































- 

' 





































































































THE LIFE BEYOND 


321 

cannot know, anything definite about the future life until the 
soul leaves the body. Therefore they do not make any careful 
and systematic effort to find whether their conclusion is correct. 
They hope to be able to meet death with some degree of com¬ 
posure, but this hope has no basis of knowledge upon which to 
rest. Great questions which should be considered and settled 
in the days of health, when the body is strong and the mind is 
clear, are left, to a great extent, unconsidered and wholly unde¬ 
cided. 

The condition of the soul immediately after death was a com¬ 
mon subject of thought and discussion in the early days of the 
Christian faith. But after a time it was very largely 

.. , . . , i »i ^ Renewed interest. 

allowed to give place to other matters, and until a 
comparatively recent period it has seemed to be neglected by 
nearly all branches of the Protestant church. The attention of 
preachers, teachers, and writers upon religious subjects appears 
to have been concentrated upon this life as one extreme, and the 
Resurrection and Judgment as the other, thus leaving a vast 
intermediate period almost wholly out of view. Of late, however, 
there has been a decided change in this respect. The desire is 
now quite general to investigate the conditions under which, if 
its conscious life is continued, the soul is placed when it leaves 
the world. 

This change in sentiment is a good indication. The charac¬ 
ter of the existence which follows death is worthy of the most 
earnest study and the most patient and careful con- Right toseek 
sideration. It is far from wise to assume an attitude in f° rmatlon - 
of indifference to that part of our existence which, beginning 
at death, stretches away into the limitless future. We do not 
treat important earthly matters in this manner, although we are 
sure that, at the longest, they can, in their present relationships, 
interest us but a little while. On the contrary, we give such 
subjects our closest attention, and cheerfully spend time and 
money in making all necessary investigations. 

Before we commence a trip to a foreign country, or to a dis¬ 
tant city in our own land, we make an effort to obtain infor¬ 
mation regarding the place which we desire to visit. We are 
not content to wait until we reach the place of our destination 
before we attempt to learn something regarding the conditions 
of life at that point Even if we are to stay only a few weeks, 
21 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


322 

we do not want to remain in entire ignorance of the locality 
until our arrival there. We read what we can about it; we 
search the map to find its exact position; and we give careful 
attention to all of the details concerning it which we can obtain. 
This is both natural and sensible. It is something that wisdom 
demands of us. Upon the making of such investigations the 
pleasure and profit which we shall derive from our journey will 
very largely depend. Yet, desirable as all of this is, it is nothing 
when compared with the importance of obtaining all possible 
information regarding the character of the world to which we 
are surely going when death removes us from these earthly 
scenes. 

The Scriptures, as well as reason, urge us to make an earnest 
and reverent study of the conditions of the future life. They 
are constantly placing before the minds of men the duty of mak¬ 
ing a careful preparation for life in the world that is to be 
entered at death. They insist that the things that are real and 
valuable and enduring lie beyond the boundaries of the present 
existence. They lay great stress upon the faithful performance 
of duty here and now, but they always subordinate the present 
to the future. They teach that the home of the soul is not here, 
that this life is but the merest fraction of existence, and that it 
is only when this primary stage has been passed that we can 
enter upon a state in which there will be an opportunity to 
develop fully our nobler powers. 

While we do not agree with those who claim that nothing 
can be learned regarding a future state, we are free to admit 
sources of know- that the sources of knowledge are neither as numer- 
,edge * ous nor as full as could be desired. But from this 

it does not follow that we must remain in entire ignorance. 
When subjects relating to this world demand investigation we 
make use of all the means of information that are within our 
reach. If the materials are scanty we use the greater degree of 
diligence to make them as useful as possible. The same course 
is both legitimate and morally imperative when the matter is 
one in which the eternal interests of the human soul are 
involved. 

In pursuing an inquiry concerning the place and state of the 
souls of the dead, we find the conditions very different from 
those which govern investigations which have to do with matters 


THE LIFE BEYOND 


323 

of the material world. If we wish to know about any earthly 
country that has been explored, but which we have 
never visited, we converse with people who have nation from the 
been there, or read what has been written by those departed ' 
who have given it a somewhat extended description. In this 
way we are able to get a very fair idea about the region itself 
and the general conditions of life which prevail within its bor¬ 
ders. In some cases the descriptions which we read are so 
vivid that the places themselves seem to be directly under our 
observation. But this method of obtaining information cannot 
a PPly t° spiritual realm with anything approaching the 
degree of fullness that it does in respect to the countries of the 
globe upon which we live. 

In the material world men visit foreign countries and return. 
They tell us of what they have seen and heard. But when men 
die they pass out of our sight. They do not come back. Efforts 
to establish communication with them are very largely, perhaps 
wholly, in vain. To the great mass of men and women the 
dead, no matter how dearly they were loved while upon earth, 
or how tenderly their memories may have been cherished since 
they were called away, never reveal themselves at all. Whether 
such a revelation would be possible if the living were less en¬ 
grossed with material affairs, and lived on a much higher spirit¬ 
ual plane than they now occupy, is a question which will be 
considered in succeeding pages. At present we have to do 
with what actually is the case, and not with what might be true 
if the conditions were changed. The departed may be as deeply 
interested in us as we are in them; but they cannot come to us, 
and we cannot go to them, as it was possible to do before they 
died. Therefore, until the barriers by which they are separated 
from us can be surmounted, we cannot expect to receive any 
detailed information from them regarding the life of the soul 
after its separation from the physical frame. 

It is not to be supposed that reason alone can speak the 
decisive word regarding the condition of the soul after death. 
It is an imperfect guide at the best. This may be T hen g htof 
seen in the fact that from the same series of obser- reason - 
vations men of great intellectual power, and who are hon¬ 
est seekers of the truth, reach widely different conclusions. 
Whether any of them are right or not, some of them must be 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


3M 

wrong. The differences are altogether too great to be recon¬ 
ciled. Now if this is true where we have a considerable amount 
of knowledge as a basis for our deductions, it must follow that 
in a field in which information is very limited reason alone will 
be far from sufficient to determine absolutely what is to be 
believed. Nevertheless, it is our right and our duty to use it as 
far as it can be made available. To fail to use this faculty when 
we are confronted with the great problems of the future life 
would neither honor the God who gave it nor be just to our¬ 
selves. 

It has been asserted by some, and taken for granted by many, 
that the Scriptures have very little to say concerning the state 
Light from of the soul between death and the resurrection. As 
revelation. compared with what they tell us regarding many 
other matters, the assertion is true. But this objection to an 
examination of the conditions which govern the future life has 
an equal degree of force concerning some of the doctrines which 
many denominations of Christians make very prominent in 
their articles of belief. Yet, though the direct teachings of the 
Scriptures regarding them are meagre, these doctrines are not 
excluded from confessions of faith, from catechisms, or from the 
more general statements of theological systems. The same de¬ 
gree of latitude should be allowed in the treatment of other 
subjects concerning which comparatively little has been revealed. 
It is just as reasonable that we should use the declarations and 
implications of the Word of God in the establishment of a 
theory of the future life of the soul as it is that we should 
endeavor to formulate doctrines upon other subjects which are 
not of greater importance and regarding which our information 
is equally incomplete. 

It is doubtless true that if they were to make a careful investi¬ 
gation, the great majority, even of truly Christian people, would 
find that the Bible really furnishes much more information re¬ 
garding departed souls than they now suppose has been given. 
They would find, in addition to the direct references, various 
allusions and indications which they have never connected with 
this subject but which were evidently intended, in part at least, 
for its illumination. The promise, “ Seek and ye shall find,” 
may reasonably be supposed to apply to the search for truth 
upon this point as well as upon others. It is certain that some- 


THE LIFE BEYOND 


325 

thing regarding the future state has been learned by a study of 
the Bible, and there is no probability that the stores of informa¬ 
tion which this wonderful volume contains have been exhausted. 
Further study, combined with the indications presented by other 
sources of knowledge, will be sure to give additional light. “ It 
is not until the mind has been quickened by an intelligent 
curiosity, and has obtained also more than one clue to inquiry 
by the aid of hypothesis, that the actual extent to which the 
unseen world is open to us in the Scriptures comes to be sus¬ 
pected or understood .” 1 

It is evident that we cannot obtain, from the combined sources 
of information to which we have access, definite answers to all 
of the questions which our hearts prompt us to ask Umited hnow , edge 
regarding the state of our friends who have entered ma y beuse f ut ‘ 
the world that is unseen by mortal eyes, or concerning what will 
befall ourselves when we, too, pass behind the veil. But a 
reverent study of the subject will certainly give us more light 
than we have yet received. There are things that we can learn 
as truly as there are mysteries which we cannot fathom. And 
the knowledge which we obtain may not only be the means of 
cheering us in the hours of sorrow, and of comforting us as we 
think of our departed friends, but it may also strengthen our 
faith in God and our hope of a life that is immeasurably better 
than that which we live in this present world. 

1 Isaac Taylor, Physical Theory of Another Life. 


CHAPTER XXI 


AN INTERMEDIATE REALM 

When the souls of those who are dear to us pass behind the 
veil, the question whether, through the agency of the great 
An interesting change called death, they have entered upon their 
question. final state of existence cannot be kept from our 

minds. We are anxious to know whether they have passed over 
the whole course of the journey of the soul, or if only a single 
stage has been traversed and they are still far from the end. 
Other questions naturally follow. We ask if the warfare of 
these souls with sin is accomplished, and their destiny is irrev¬ 
ocably sealed, or if there still remains a possibility of change 
for better or for worse. We wonder where and how the de¬ 
parted live, what are the subjects of their thought and interest, 
and what is the nature of their employments if the state in which 
they dwell is one which admits of active effort. Many other 
questions, some of them growing out of the ones which have 
been noted, and several which are closely connected with them, 
also call for consideration. In the present chapter inquiry will 
principally have to do with the permanence of the state upon 
which souls enter at death. Except as incidental reference may 
be necessary, the other questions will be reserved for treatment 
at a later stage of this work. 

Perhaps there is no question in the whole range of theological 
discussion upon which there has been a wider difference of 
Difference of opinion, or regarding which the divergent views 
opinion. have been stated with a greater degree of positive 

assertion, than has been the case with the theory of an inter¬ 
mediate place, or state, for the dead. For a long period preced¬ 
ing the Christian era various peoples held the belief that death 
did not bring man to the final stage of his conscious existence. 
There was, in the minds of many, a vague idea that the soul 
would be obliged to face another crisis before the last state of 
its life was reached. With the establishment of the Christian 


THE LIFE BEYOND 


327 

church this thought became much clearer. The general judg¬ 
ment, which Christ foretold, was believed to mark the close of a 
period which was intermediate between this life and the final 
place and state of the soul. 

Concerning the state of the soul during the interval which 
must elapse between its entrance into the unseen world and its 
summons to appear, with all the millions that have The reticence of 
ever lived in this world, before the judgment seat of Scr, f* ure - 
Christ, to receive, in the presence of the assembled universe, a 
public certification of its character and destiny, the Scriptures 
have but little to say. In its statements and implications it 
gives an occasional glimpse behind the veil. But the veil is 
never removed, nor is it sufficiently raised to give us anything 
approaching the degree of light which we would be glad to 
receive. Now and then a point becomes luminous, but nothing 
in the way of a clear and connected view is offered to our sight. 

In the teachings of Christ, as they are recorded in the New 
Testament, this reticence is strongly marked. Some go so far 
as to claim that the only utterance of the Master which is appli¬ 
cable to this state was the parable of Dives and Lazarus, and 
that this was not designed to give men any particulars regard¬ 
ing the state of the departed, but merely to show that in the 
next world the reaping will be in exact correspondence with 
what the sowing has been here. Many eminent scholars hold, 
with a recent writer, that “ Christ Himself gives no doctrine of 
an intermediate state .” 1 But, as will be noted later, from this 
view there is considerable reason to dissent. 

This reticence does not prove either that there is no Inter¬ 
mediate State of the soul, or that, if it exists, nothing can be 
learned about its condition. There are certain doc- „ j 

, Not conclusive. 

trines which are held by large branches of the Chris¬ 
tian church which are not made clear by a superficial examina¬ 
tion of the Word of God. In order to demonstrate their truth 
it is necessary to follow the command of Christ to “ search the 
Scriptures.” The full meaning of these writings does not al¬ 
ways lie upon the surface. Careful study will reveal a great 
deal that would never be noticed in a casual reading. By fol¬ 
lowing hints and indications, and comparing Scripture with 
Scripture, we are often able to learn much that is of interest and 

1 S. D. F. Salmond, D. D., The Christian Doctrine of Immortality* 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


328 

value which a mere reading of the Word never would have re¬ 
vealed. Therefore, while this Book is to be the supreme test of 
truth, it is not wise to condemn a doctrine which commends 
itself to reason and to Christian sentiment merely because it is 
not fully and decisively presented in the Bible. It is possible 
that careful and prayerful study will show that it really has a 
scriptural foundation. 

Various reasons for the reticence of Christ and the New Tes¬ 
tament writers have been suggested. One of these is that it 
Reasons for seemed desirable to emphasize as fully as possible 

reticence. the g reat f ac t that this hf e j s the time of preparation 

for what lies beyond its close. Throughout the whole course of 
the teaching and the writing it was insisted that if this life is 
lived according to the will of God there need be no fear of the 
life to come; while, on the other hand, if the present life is 
wrong, and its opportunities are neglected, the evil results which 
will be inevitable will pass on into the succeeding ages. It was 
designed to make so clear that no one could mistake it the great 
fact that the vital issues of human life are here and now. 

Another reason why no more light is given us regarding the 
state between death and the judgment is to be found in the 
strong probability that a full revelation of the condition of the 
soul during this period would unfit us for the duties and respon¬ 
sibilities of every-day life. Instead of giving our time and effort 
to making a suitable preparation for the new home, we should 
often neglect present duty in contemplation of what the future 
is to bring. Thus the knowledge which we so much desire 
might be a decided hindrance in the work of preparation for life 
in a better world. 

One more reason which should be mentioned is the fact that 
Christ and the Apostles regarded the judgment as the great 
consummation of all the plans and purposes relating to life in 
the present world. The condition of the soul in the period 
between the end of this life and the close of the present dispen¬ 
sation was considered of less importance to the individual than 
was his period of probation, or the public announcement of the 
result of the test to which he had been subjected. Conse¬ 
quently there was much greater stress laid upon these points 
than there was upon the interval by which the life here and the 
final state are separated. 


THE LIFE BEYOND 


329 

The difficulty in understanding the teaching of the New 
Testament regarding the intermediate state of the dead is not 
wholly due to the fact that comparatively little is A greater m- 
said upon the subject. A great deal of it, more in cu,ty - 
fact than is due to the meagreness of the information, comes 
from the difficulty which invests the interpretation of what has 
been revealed. There is a great deal of obscurity regarding the 
period of the life of the soul to which certain passages in the 
New Testament refer. Texts which some students are sure 
relate to a certain term of the after-life are, with an equal degree 
of confidence, referred by others to an altogether different stage. 
On account of this difference of opinion as to the particular 
time to which these passages relate, writers who are equally 
honest and earnest in their search for the truth, and who use 
the same texts as the basis of their arguments, reach conclu¬ 
sions which cannot possibly be harmonized. The divergence is 
so great that if any one of the interpretations is right some of 
the others must be wrong. 

Then, too, as an eminent theological writer has observed, a 
great deal of confusion has been caused by the failure on the 
part of some to recognize “ the difference between Know i edge and 
what we, from Scripture, actually know of these cor, j ecture - 
things, and what we only with some probability can conjec¬ 
ture .” 1 To what the Scriptures definitely assert and indirectly 
give us good ground to believe, there has sometimes been added 
a great deal of speculation which, whether true or false, was not 
within the realm of certainty. 

Except where the teaching was plainly unscriptural, this elab¬ 
oration might not have been an evil if the writers had told us 
just where the line would fall between what they regarded as 
truth and what was put forth as mere personal opinion. As 
long as a sharp distinction is made between what is asserted as 
truth and what we believe may be true, we have a right to allow 
the imagination to deal very freely with such a subject as the 
future home of the soul. Just as we try to think how a city 
that we are soon to visit will appear, and how a friend whom we 
have not seen for a long time will look when we meet him 
again, so we have a right to think of the probable appearance 
of the home of the departed and of the conditions of life therein. 

1 Bishop L. N. Dahle, Life after Death . 


21* 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


330 

This is reasonable, not only because many of our dear ones have 
entered the unseen realm, but also because we too shall erelong 
cross the line which separates it from the material world. But 
while a free use of the imagination is legitimate, all mere guesses 
upon the subject should be clearly separated in our minds from 
what we have reason to believe rests upon a solid basis of fact. 

That there is an intermediate state of some kind seems to be 
clearly revealed. The Scriptures recognize three great stages 
certainty of such in human existence. These are the life upon earth; 
a state. the p er i oc i between death and the resurrection, an 

event which is to be so immediately followed by the judgment 
as practically to make the two contemporaneous; and the great 
future which projects its endless course beyond the day of doom. 
As in the second of these periods the soul will necessarily be in 
a very different condition from what it was while it was con¬ 
nected with its physical frame in its life in this world, and from 
what it will be when it is united with its perfected body at the 
resurrection, there can be no impropriety in saying that during 
this stage it remains in an intermediate state. This period is a 
clearly marked division in the progressive life and development 
of the soul. 

Regarding the certainty of an intermediate state of some kind 
there is substantial agreement among nearly all Christian peo¬ 
ple. It is plain that the departed are in a very different state 
from what they were while they lived here. It is equally appar¬ 
ent that the resurrection and judgment will bring another great 
change in their condition. Consequently they have not yet 
entered upon their final state. The fact that the absolutely com¬ 
plete and permanent state of the soul is not entered upon at 
death is too plain to admit of any real dispute. 

The wide difference of opinion regarding the intermediate 
state, to which disagreement reference has been made, does not 
ne cause of particularly concern the fact that there is such a 
disagreement state, but centres around the condition and possibili¬ 
ties of the soul during the continuance of this period. Some 
hold that the soul remains in a wholly unconscious condition 
from the very moment of death until the dead are called from 
their graves on the resurrection day. Others believe that the 
state is one of suspense, that the soul is thrown upon its own 
resources and merely waits, in silence and quietness, for the time 


THE LIFE BEYOND 


331 

when it shall rejoin its body and its destiny shall be publicly 
announced. Still others believe that this state is a great period 
of education and development of the soul. 

The doctrine of an intermediate state of the soul was held by 
a large number of the early Christians, and in the works of 
many of the Church Fathers it appears as a standard , nthee atiy 
article of belief. Clement of Alexandria, Origen, church ‘ 
Athanasius, Tertullian, Lactantius, Ambrose, and Augustine, as 
well as others of great prominence in the early church, might 
be quoted at length in favor of this doctrine. Justin Martyr 
went so far as to assert that those who reject it and say that at 
death the souls of believers pass into heaven “ are not to be 
accounted either Christians or Jews.” Those who favor the 
doctrine claim that, though it had long been current among the 
Greeks and many of the Jews, it was clearly recognized and 
approved by Christ and by His disciples. 

It is probable that if it had remained in its primitive sim¬ 
plicity, the doctrine of an intermediate state of the soul would 
have received but little unfriendly criticism. But Why the doc tnrie. 
when the doctrine of purgatory was attached to it, feV lnt0 disre P ute - 
and proclamation was made that the souls of many of the ser¬ 
vants of God who had departed this life with sins upon them 
for which full atonement had not been made were being puri¬ 
fied by great suffering, and that the duration of their torment 
could be shortened, and the intensity of their pain could be 
lessened, by the prayers of men and women upon the earth, by 
masses, and by the intercession of saints, the whole doctrine of 
the intermediate state fell into disrepute among large numbers 
of Christian people. It is not strange that this was the case. 
Yet it is possible that in the rejection of what must be regarded 
as a great error, some of our large and influential Protestant 
denominations of the present time are also losing something of 
the truth. In sweeping away an unscriptural conception of the 
intermediate state of the soul they may have carried with it 
some ideas which are not only not opposed to the Bible teaching 
but which find a good deal of support therein. 


CHAPTER XXII 


THE PERSISTENCE OF CONSCIOUS LIFE 

From what we have learned of the powers and capacities of 
the human soul we are confident that it will survive the great 
survival of the event of death. Reason and revelation assure us 
*° u/ * that the soul does not forever pass out of existence 

when it leaves the body. We feel assured that some time, per¬ 
haps in the distant future, there will be an inquiry as to its de¬ 
serts and a just determination of its destiny. When this occurs 
the soul will be alive and in the full possession of all of its 
powers. 

The knowledge that death does not involve the eternal de¬ 
struction of the soul brings no small degree of comfort to those 
condition after who mourn for friends who have been called away 
death. or w h 0 ] 00 k forward to the time when they, too, will 

depart this life. Still, it falls very far short of what we earnestly 
desire to learn. As we stand by the dead body of a relative or 
a friend we instinctively ask ourselves if the soul that has left its 
earthly tenement has also passed out of conscious existence. It 
is not enough for us to believe with Martha, as she mourned the 
death of her brother, that “ in the resurrection at the last day ” 
the departed one will live again. We desire to know the condi¬ 
tion of the soul at the present moment. We ask ourselves if it 
has passed into a dreamless sleep in which it will remain until 
the unnumbered hosts of the dead are called forth from their 
graves, or whether it is now in conscious existence, with facul¬ 
ties as alert and sensibilities as keen as they were before death 
occurred. We know that to some extent death has been de¬ 
structive. We can see that the means which were used for 
communication while the soul remained in the body are utterly 
ruined. The body, as such, has ceased to exist. But all this 
does not make it certain that the powers of the soul have been 
impaired. It is possible that they are even more vigorous than 
they were while the union of body and soul was maintained 


THE LIFE BEYOND 


333 

As would naturally be expected, there is a wide difference in 
belief regarding the condition of the human soul in the period 
which immediately follows its departure from the 
body. Indeed, the views which are entertained re- Van0U8 theones ' 
garding the nature and ultimate destiny of the soul are so con¬ 
flicting that uniformity of opinion upon this point is utterly im¬ 
possible. This, however, should not discourage inquiry. An 
examination of theories which have been accepted by careful 
investigators cannot fail to be interesting, and it is fair to sup¬ 
pose that it will also be instructive. 

There are many people, in all, who believe that when an indi¬ 
vidual dies his whole being perishes. According to their theory 
the soul is as utterly destroyed as is the body. The 
ruin is complete and no remedy is possible. As has 
been shown in a previous chapter this view must be regarded as 
erroneous. The evidences that the soul does not perish at death 
are too strong to be resisted. They assure us that though the 
conditions are greatly changed the real life goes on. 

The theory that both soul and body really die when life 
departs from the physical frame, but that both will be revived 
by the power of God at the resurrection, has also Restoration of 
been noted, and what seem to be convincing objec- ///e * 
tions have been stated. This method would require a new crea¬ 
tion instead of an awakening to a renewed life of a soul that had 
never passed out of existence. In the case of each and every 
soul a miracle would be required to preserve the identity of the 
individual. Such a course would be a wide departure from the 
manner in which the affairs of the universe which come under 
our observation are conducted. 

A less objectionable view, yet one for which we have not been 
able to find convincing evidence, is that which regards the soul 
as falling into a profound sleep at the moment of 
death and remaining absolutely unconscious until the 
resurrection. During all this period the soul exists, but its 
consciousness is annihilated. When it awakes it will have no 
knowledge of the interval that has elapsed since it left the body. 
It commences an entirely new life, but it is obliged to begin at 
the point at which the break in continuity occurred ages before. 

For many people this theory has a strong fascination. During 
the periods of childhood and youth they were far from happy. 


The soul asleep. 




LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


334 

In later 


The desire of 
some. 


The fear of 
others. 


years the burdens of life have been numerous and 
heavy. The larger part of their active existence has 
been marked by conflict and clouded by disappoint¬ 
ment. Such people can look forward with joy to a period which 
they believe will be free from these disturbing conditions. They 
can hardly imagine this period as too long or the rest as too 
profound. This life has been so constantly attended by weari¬ 
ness, anxiety, and care, that the thought of sinking into utter 
forgetfulness and remaining undisturbed for ages is cheering 
almost beyond the power of words to express. 

There are many other persons who take a directly opposite 
view of this condition of the soul after death. This may be due 
in part to happier experiences here which have made 
conscious existence a pleasure instead of a weariness, 
but it is largely the result of a difference in the mental constitu¬ 
tion. In some cases, too, the difference in opinion may be due 
to the fact that those who shrink from this total loss of con¬ 
sciousness have been more thorough investigators of the powers 
of the real man than have those who so earnestly desire an undis¬ 
turbed repose of the soul as well as of the body. 

It is probable that a large proportion of the people who are 
pleased with the idea of having an unbroken period of repose 
from the moment of death until the morning of the 
resurrection do not fully understand what such a 
condition would involve. They have made only a superficial 
examination of the subject. What they desire is something of 
the same nature as the rest which they now obtain by means of 
sleep. This, if continued for an indefinite period, would satisfy 
their longings. But, from the very nature of the case, rest of 
this kind cannot be obtained after the soul leaves the body. The 
partial, sometimes apparently total, unconsciousness in which 
our sleeping hours are passed is due to our physical condition. 
The body, or the brain, becomes tired and calls for rest. But at 
death the body is left behind. The soul becomes entirely inde¬ 
pendent of the physical frame, and cannot be wearied or dis¬ 
turbed by anything that may happen to it as an organization or 
to the materials of which it is composed. Consequently, sleep, 
such as is now enjoyed, cannot be supposed to affect the soul 
after death. 

If it proves true, as many suppose, that the soul will not be * 


What this sleep 
would inuolue. 


THE LIFE BEYOND 


335 

entirely destitute of an organization in the realm which it enters 
at death, it will not follow that sleep will be either ifthesouihas 
possible or desirable. The body, if one is assumed, form ‘ 
will be fitted for the conditions which govern life in the particu¬ 
lar sphere which will then be occupied. Whether it will need rest 
and sleep, like the bodies which we have in this world, it is not 
necessary at present to inquire, but it appears certain that there 
will not be a long period of unbroken slumber. If the soul were 
to remain in a wholly unconscious state until the time to assume 
the resurrection body had come, there would be no possible need, 
during this intervening period, of its being supplied with an 
organized form. Unless it were to be awake and active, at least 
a portion of the time, we cannot suppose that the soul would be 
given any tangible form until it joined either the body, or the 
successor to the body, from which it was parted by death. 

If we reject the theory that the soul is invested in some kind 
of bodily form during the period between death and the resur¬ 
rection, we shall find equally strong objections to The soui superior 
the claim that, in its disembodied state, it can remain tothebod y‘ 
unconscious. In previous chapters the fact has been noted that 
the soul is vastly superior to the body. We can hardly imagine 
that the soul, which here is so restless and active, which allows 
the body to sleep only a few hours at a time and never, so far as 
we are able to determine, sleeps itself, should, at the very moment 
in which it is released from the body in which it has been a pris¬ 
oner, fall into a stupor which will last for untold ages. If it does 
enter such a state it becomes, for all practical purposes, as inert 
as is the body after it is dead. And it is not at all impossible 
that to a disembodied soul the loss of consciousness would be 
equivalent to the loss of existence. It may not be going too far 
to assert that without self-consciousness existence “is a mere 
name, an empty predicate not worth talking about. There re¬ 
mains no bond of continuity, no basis of identity. The last 
vestige of personality is obliterated, the soul is annihilated .” 1 

This loss of identity is a great deal more radical change than 
those who hope for a sleep of the soul during its absence from 
the body desire. Of course, God could allow the soul to fall 
into nothingness at death and yet recreate and bring it forth in 
glory at the resurrection; but it is not reasonable to expect Him 

1 James Strong, S. T. D., Doctrhie of a Future Life. 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


336 

to do this. We are not to look for miracles where natural pro¬ 
cesses will answer all the purposes which it is necessary to 
serve. And it is certain that for all of His weary children God 
can provide abundant rest without giving them up to total 
unconsciousness when their spirits depart from the world. 

Probably the great majority of the people who live in Chris¬ 
tian lands, and who have given the subject sufficient thought to 
unbroken con- enable them to form an intelligent opinion, believe 
sdousness. that consciousness remains practically unbroken 
through the event of death. Of these, there are many who hold 
that there is not the slightest interruption of the mental pro¬ 
cesses. Its means of communication have been so impaired 
that the soul cannot make its thoughts known to the friends 
who, with breaking hearts and weeping eyes, are awaiting its 
departure, but its own vision is clear, and its realization of the 
great crisis through which it is passing is complete. There are 
others who believe that at the moment of making the transit 
from this world to the spiritual realm the soul is either insen¬ 
sible or in a semi-conscious state. They regard this, however, 
as only a momentary condition which passes away with as little 
disturbance as one here experiences when he awakes from a 
peaceful sleep. 

There is much to commend the view that there is no per¬ 
ceptible break in consciousness when death occurs. It is free 
from the very grave objections to which the other theories that 
have been stated are open, and which cannot be satisfactorily 
disproved. And it does not present special difficulties of its 
own. There are numerous reasons for believing that this is the 
correct solution of the problem. These are drawn from various 
sources. They vary in importance; but even the weakest are 
not without weight, and when all are combined they seem 
unanswerable. , 

It is granted, at the outset, that there is a great deal of mys¬ 
tery connected with the event of death and with what lies just 
The natural out- over the line which separates the earthly existence 
come. from what lies beyond the scenes of time and the 

perception of the senses. But, as affecting the matter now 
under consideration, this mystery is not of special importance. 
The great and wholly inexplicable mystery lies farther back. 
It shrouds the beginning of life, and far transcends all the other 


SALISBURY CATHEDRAL, ENGLAND 



































































"r - .. 













































/ 









































































THE LIFE BEYOND 


337 

difficulties which the problem of existence presents. Therefore 
we cannot consistently reject any theory of the mere continu¬ 
ance of conscious life simply because it is beyond our compre¬ 
hension. 

After it has commenced it is natural that the life of the soul 
should go on. There is no apparent reason why it should 
not do so. It is the tendency of life to persist. All Life tends to 
through the earthly course life keeps a constant war- persist 
fare against destructive forces and tendencies. The body is 
constantly being torn down and rebuilt. It grows old, and, in 
accordance with a natural and an inexorable law, it declines in 
power and at length becomes useless. But the soul is of a very 
different and of an immeasurably higher nature than the body. 
It is the tenant of the earthly tabernacle, and survives the con¬ 
stant changes by which the old body is discarded and an entirely 
new one is provided once in about every seven years. Not only 
does it survive these great transformations, but it continues to 
increase in power long after the body has reached its prime, and 
in many cases it manifests, up to the very moment of death, the 
fullest measure of energy and versatility which it ever has pos¬ 
sessed. In this growth and development of the powers of the 
soul long after the body has reached the limit of its possibilities 
and entered upon a decline that must inevitably end in its com¬ 
plete destruction, we have a strong intimation that the life and 
activity of the spiritual nature will go on without reference to 
the fate of the physical form through which its energies have 
thus far been manifested. It certainly is reasonable to suppose 
that the soul, which has been so immensely superior, both in 
power and in quality, while it was united with the body, will 
continue to maintain its relative importance after the union has 
been destroyed by death. 

It is perfectly natural that the body should fall a prey to 
death. It was made for only a limited term of service. In an 
earlier chapter some of the changes through which T he body serves 
it passes have been noted. These changes cannot it 8 P ur p° se ’ 
be prevented, and their destructive influence cannot be counter¬ 
acted. But, though it is here for only a brief period, the body 
answers the purpose for which it was provided. It may not do 
this as perfectly as is desirable, but, if it is properly cared for, it 
approximates the standard which it should attain. When death 
22 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


333 

comes there is no further use which this body, as such, can be 
made to serve. Consequently, in accordance with a universal 
law, the elements of which it was composed are set free, and the 
organized structure passes out of existence. 

As it applies to the body, all this is perfectly plain. But no 
such assumptions regarding the soul can be maintained. From 
ne soui needs fur- the way in which the body is organized and devel- 
ther opportunity, ope^ we know that it cannot last very long. It is 
liable to many diseases, and exposed to numerous accidents, any 
one of which may prove its ruin. But even if it escapes all of 
these dangers the end cannot be very far away, for then the ma¬ 
chinery will surely wear itself out. The soul, however, seems 
to have been created for an existence of measureless duration. 
When the body has reached the period of old age the soul 
appears to be only in its infancy. 

Unlike the body, too, the soul does not appear to have an¬ 
swered the purpose for which it was created. As far as we can 
see, nothing could be gained by extending the limit of the bodily 
life far beyond the threescore and ten years which is now 
regarded as its appropriate bound. While physical conditions 
remain as they now are the period of life in the body is ample 
for all the purposes that can be served through its instrumen¬ 
tality. An increase of years would add to its weariness and 
feebleness without in the slightest degree enlarging its capa¬ 
cities or increasing its powers. But the hour of death finds the 
soul not only in the very beginning of its development, but with 
undiminished possibilities of advancement. As we have seen, 
the life and usefulness of the body are limited by its own con¬ 
stitution. If it escapes dangers from without it will surely fall 
a prey to the disintegrating forces which are constantly at w r ork 
within itself. And we can see the wisdom of this arrangement. 
The body is needed only for a little while. It is eminently 
fitting that after serving its purpose it should pass away, and 
that the soul which it contained should be set free. 

When the time for its departure from the body arrives the 
soul appears to be endowed with a life that gives promise of 
The powers of the continuance without regard to>what befalls the taber- 
sout at death. nac l e 0 f flesh in which it thus far has found a home. 
We cannot resist the impression that the departing soul has 
capacities and powers of which as yet it has made only the 


THE LIFE BEYOND 


339 

slightest manifestations. We feel that its principal forces are 
still in reserve; It has talents which it has not been able to 
develop and which, except in the faintest outline, it has had no 
opportunity to display. The measure of its possible attainments 
is so vast in its proportions that even those who have been 
models of industry, and have endeavored to use wisely all the 
means which have been placed at their command, seem to have 
made only the merest beginning. Life is brief, and human 
strength is limited. But the weariness of toil and the weakness 
of age belong to the body, and to that alone* The soul is supe¬ 
rior to these infirmities. We have reason to believe that when it 
is set free from the body it will be brought under more favorable 
influences for development and usefulness than it has hitherto 
enjoyed, and that, from the moment of death, its life will not 
merely be continued, but will grow fuller and stronger and 
richer as the ages pass away. 

These arguments for the persistence of conscious life hold 
good whether the soul is immortal by virtue of its nature, or its 
life, while in the body, continues because God con- , f Go d upholds the 
stantly exerts His power to sustain it in being. In 80Ul ' 
the one case existence would continue as a matter of course, 
and cogent reasons have been given for supposing that if the 
life of the soul goes on after it leaves the body consciousness 
will also persist. In the other case we have ample grounds for 
confidence. If God has upheld the soul in all of its earthly life 
we can hardly imagine that at death He will either leave it to 
perish or allow it to remain for untold ages in a lethargy from 
which it is to be aroused only at the resurrection. Having 
cared for it thus, and determined to bring it, in company with 
all other souls, to the general judgment, we can easily believe 
that He will guard it during the intervening period. 

From very early times there has been a more or less clearly 
defined belief that the souls of men who had died retained some 
degree of consciousness. Wherever the doctrine of , , u , 

a life beyond the grave has been held, the prevailing 
opinion seems to have been that the soul did not lose all know¬ 
ledge of itself at death. We have already shown that the vast 
majority of men, without regard to race, or location, or mental 
powers, or moral development, have lboked for some sort of an 
existence after the bodily life had ceased. Of these only a few, 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


340 

comparatively, have believed that death would be followed by a 
long period of unconsciousness from which the soul would 
eventually awake. Many uncivilized peoples have placed food 
and the weapons of the chase upon or within the grave, in order 
that the departed soul might be enabled to make its journey to 
its future home in safety. Others have held that for a time, 
varying from a few days to several months, the soul remained 
near the spot where its body was buried. Christians, and ad¬ 
herents to other forms of religion, have held that at death the 
soul of the believer goes directly to some abode of happiness 
and the soul of the unbeliever sinks to a place of unrest. There 
have been many differences of opinion as to the details of the 
home and the life of the soul, but regarding its continuous con¬ 
sciousness there has been a very general agreement. 

Naturally, indeed inevitably, the ideas of the future life which 
were held by savage and barbarous races were similar to those 
ideas far from which they entertained of the life upon the earth. 
uniform. Their mental capacity was small, and the intellec¬ 

tual powers which they possessed were undeveloped. If its dis¬ 
comforts and privations were removed the present life would 
satisfy all of their desires. So they pictured the other life after 
the fashion of this, except that in the future the hunt should 
always be successful, enemies should be restrained, and the 
wants of the body should be fully and constantly supplied. 
They were content to believe that whatever made them happy 
here would be sufficient for them in the new home. 

The life which the more cultivated of the ancient peoples 
thought would succeed the present state of existence was mea¬ 
gre and unsatisfactory. Still, it was not utter destruction. 
Something of the old-time power and capacity of the individual 
remained. And among these peoples there were many, in all, 
who had a clearer idea and a stronger faith regarding the future 
than the masses entertained. The Old Testament heroes 
looked for a conscious and vigorous life after they should be 
done with the things of earth. Seneca cheered many wavering 
souls by the memorable words: “ This day which thou fearest 
so much, and which thou callest thy last, is the birthday of an 
eternity,” and other ancient philosophers and poets and teachers 
believed and proclaimed the doctrine that conscious existence 
does not cease at death. 


THE LIFE BEYOND 


341 


As people have advanced in knowledge the conviction that 
the period immediately following death is one of mental and 
spiritual consciousness and activity has become more 

i ^ 1 J n In later days. 

general and much more clearly denned. 1 he more 
we learn regarding the nature and the powers of the soul the 
more fully we are persuaded that death will make no appreci¬ 
able interruption of the continuity of consciousness. Evidence 
has long been accumulating which goes to prove, on physiologi¬ 
cal and psychological grounds, that death causes no greater 
interference with the life of the soul than does sleep with the 
earthly existence. There are those who interpret the facts and 
phenomena upon which this opinion is based in a different man¬ 
ner, but the weight of authority seems to be strongly in favor of 
the theory of unbroken consciousness. Viewing the matter 
merely from a scientific standpoint, we are led to the conclusion 
that death is not a forcible breaking off of life, but is merely an 
incident which, though it involves great changes, permits exist¬ 
ence to continue without a break. 

Upon this point, as well as upon most others which have to 
do with the future life, the words of Scripture which are sup¬ 
posed to be applicable to it have been very differ- The teaching of 
ently interpreted by writers who have endeavored to Scri P ture - 
learn and explain their meaning. Some have laid a great deal 
of stress upon one class of passages and given but little attention 
to another class which seem to have a different purport and 
which should have been studied with an equal degree of care. 
Some, too, have fallen into the obvious error of giving to pas¬ 
sages selected from the Old Testament as much force as they 
have allowed to others which are found in the New Testament. 

We admit that “ all Scripture” is from God, but this does not 
change the fact, nor lessen the significance of the fact, that rev¬ 
elation has been progressive. A vast amount of truth of which 
the patriarchs and prophets had only dim and uncertain visions 
came into the clearest of light before the latest book of the Bible 
was written. Much, too, of which the earlier writers never even 
dreamed, was made known to their successors, and through 
them has been handed down to all to whom the Word of God 
has come. Therefore we feel that it is not merely safe, but 
necessary, to lay greater stress upon the hopeful strains of some 
of the later writers than we do upon the hesitating words of 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


342 

those of earlier days to whom only a small measure of truth had 
been revealed. When we consider the age in which he lived, 
and the feebleness of the light through which he was -obliged to 
grope his way, the faith of Job seems wonderful, -but his hope¬ 
ful utterances cannot stir the soul as do the triumphant affirma¬ 
tions of the Apostle Paul. And the same difference may be 
found throughout the Scriptures. The later revelation concern¬ 
ing his destiny is not only clearer, but it is also far more com¬ 
plete, than is that which was made to man at an earlier period in 
the history of the world. 

It must also be noted that the references of Scripture to the 
condition of the soul during the interval between the earthly 

life and the resurrection from the dead are not as 

Not fully treated. . . . ,. •. 

numerous and, as a rule, are not as explicit, as are 
those which relate to various other matters in which it is deeply 
concerned. Evidently the writers, guided by the Holy Spirit, 
did not consider this period in the life of the soul as approach¬ 
ing in importance the ones by which it is bounded. They laid 
great stress upon the present life as a period of preparation for 
the future, and they pointed to a time in which fidelity would 
be rewarded and neglect or transgression would bring loss and 
misery. But this time of publicly determining the deserts of 
the soul and making its destiny known to the universe was not 
represented as commencing when the soul departed from the 
body. It was to be delayed until the present order of things 
should close. When the appointed hour should come the dead 
should be raised, those living upon the earth should be removed, 
and the world itself should be destroyed. This life and the 
judgment were the great points of interest. So it need not 
cause surprise that the writers in question did not dwell at 
greater length upon the state of the soul in the interval between 
the close of its preparation for another state of existence and 
the opening of the final stage of its being. But they were not 
wholly silent. In addition to some specific statements in the 
Scriptures, there are many things which throw light upon the 
condition of the soul while it awaits, in an intermediate realm, 
the assignment to its ultimate home. There are various inci¬ 
dents and references which furnish indirect but convincing evi¬ 
dence that the souls of the departed are now in conscious 
existence. 


THE LIFE BEYOND 


343 

To Moses, the great leader of His ancient people, God pro¬ 
claimed Himself as “ The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, 
and the God of Jacob.” When arguing with the T heGodofthe 
Pharisees concerning the resurrection, Christ quoted lluin9 ' 
this declaration and added the assertion that “ God is not the 
God of the dead, but of the living.” These illustrious men had 
died before Moses was born, but God revealed Himself as their 
God, not merely and only in the past, but also at the moment in 
which He was making known His will to the shepherd who was 
destined to become one of the greatest and grandest characters 
in human history. He had been their God while they were on 
the earth, and He remained their God after they passed beyond 
the sight of men. He was still their God when, after an inter¬ 
val of not less than fourteen hundred years, Christ told of a 
future life. If the ancient worthies had passed into a state of 
absolute unconsciousness it is not probable, in fact it is hardly 
conceivable, that any such reference to them would have been 
made. The communications were made to living men, and the 
manner in which the departed were mentioned indicates that 
their spirits were as conscious then as they had been when, long 
before, they had dwelt in human form. 

The narrative of the appearance of the Prophet Samuel to 
King Saul when that monarch was in sore distress has been 
employed to enforce and illustrate statements made necaseof 
in an earlier chapter of this work. It also has a direct SamueL 
bearing upon the point now under consideration. The prophet 
had been dead for some years, but when this appeal for his help 
was made his soul was living and conscious. He had laid aside 
the body in which he had lived and moved while he was upon 
the earth, and through which he made himself known to others, 
but the real man was still alive. His mental powers were, ap¬ 
parently, as vigorous as they had ever been, and, from the fact 
that he regarded his return to earth as a disagreeable duty, we 
infer that the conditions of existence were pleasanter than they 
had been while he was dwelling here. The fact that he was 
conscious at this time proves conclusively that when he died he 
did not enter upon a long period of insensibility, and makes it 
highly probable that there was no interval in which he was not 
aware of his existence and his surroundings. And what was 
true in his case is doubtless true in the cases of all who have 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


344 

died. All who are to follow may reasonably expect that the 
same conditions will prevail when they, too, shall lay aside the 
robe of flesh and their own souls shall pass behind the veil 
which separates the world in which men dwell in bodily form 
from the unseen realm in which the spirits of the departed 
abide. 

The appearance of Moses upon the Mount of Transfiguration 
is another argument in favor of the doctrine that the departed 
Moses at the sou l is neither destroyed nor rendered insensible 
Transfiguration, death. Nearly fifteen hundred years before this 
event, Moses, in obedience to a direct command of God, had 
ascended a mountain peak from which he was given a view of 
the goodly land which had been promised to the people whom 
he had led for forty weary years but which he was not permitted 
to enter. Here he died and was buried, but no human eye saw 
him after he made that lonely journey up the mountain side 
and “ no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day.” Yet he 
was a living, conscious, and intelligent being when, in com¬ 
pany with the Prophet Elijah, he appeared upon the earth and 
conversed with Christ concerning what were to be the closing 
scenes in His work of redemption. 

Here are two instances in which we have the full authority 
of Scripture for asserting that consciousness did not end with 
death. We know that these men died, and that after 
death they were living beings. As far as we can see, 
their mental and spiritual faculties had not been impaired in the 
slightest degree. And there is nothing in the Scripture narra¬ 
tives, or in the conditions of these cases, which indicates that, so 
far as consciousness and intelligence are concerned, they were 
at all exceptional. If these individuals retained their mental 
powers we are justified in supposing that other souls which have 
passed into the unseen world have done the same. The laws of 
our being have not been framed for individuals, but for the race. 
They apply just as fully to the humblest disciple as they do to 
the most eminent saint. Death can have no more power over 
the one than it has over the other. This fact, in connection 
with the cases cited, leads us to believe that the conscious life 
of the soul is neither extinguished nor impaired by death. 

The appearance of the Prophet Elijah at the scene of the 
Transfiguration, while offering* convincing evidence that he was 


THE LIFE BEYOND 


345 

living and conscious long after his earthly life had come to an 
end, is not to be employed as an argument in proof The Prophet 
of the conscious existence of all of the dead. The E,Uah ’ 
manner in which his spirit entered the unseen world was widely 
different from that in which the souls of other men depart this 
life. Therefore, merely from what occurred in his case, we have 
no right to conclude that all men will be conscious after their 
earthly existence is closed. His presence with Moses proves 
that translation did not annihilate the soul, or cause it to lose 
its intelligence, or its interest in the human race which Christ 
was upon earth to redeem, but it does not reveal the condition 
of a soul which had been separated from the body by the ordi¬ 
nary processes of death. 

In support of the claim that the soul continues in conscious 
existence after its separation from the body has occurred some 
writers have laid great stress upon the fact that after 

tt*i , il l* 4 . The appearance 

His death, and the placing of His body in the sepul- of Christ after 
chre, Christ appeared upon the earth in all the vigor Hlscrucifix,on ‘ 
of His previous life. We believe that during the interval be¬ 
tween His death and resurrection Christ was fully conscious. 
He passed behind the veil which separates those living in the 
body from those whom we call dead, but this does not make it 
probable that the active life of His soul was suspended, or that 
its powers were in the least diminished. Upon this point, how¬ 
ever, opinions differ. But all who accept the Bible as authority 
are agreed that after His dead body was laid in the tomb He 
manifested Himself, many times, in living form, and convinced 
even those who at first were unbelieving that He had again 
taken the life that He had, while on the cross, surrendered for 
sinful men. 

In connection with His teaching, the fact of the reappearance 
of the living Christ after His crucifixion is of the greatest value 
in sustaining the doctrine of the persistence of the T he teaching of 
conscious life of the soul after it is separated from Christ 
the body. But the mere fact that Christ proved Himself superior 
to death would, in itself alone, be of little weight. For Christ 
was far more than a mere man, and what occurred in His case 
cannot, simply on the ground of His experience, be regarded as 
certain to occur to an ordinary individual. Besides, His appear¬ 
ance in the body after He had been put to death was absolutely 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


346 

necessary to the completion of the great work which He came 
to earth to perform. For these reasons the fact that death did 
not end the conscious existence of Christ proves nothing what¬ 
ever in regard to its influence upon any one else. 

When, however, we connect this fact, that Christ survived the 
event of death, with His teaching and His promises before He 
came under its power, we have the very best of evidence that 
for those who believe in Him the current of conscious life is not 
broken when they die. He foretold His departure but asserted 
that wherever He was there should also His servants be. He 
assured His followers that there were “ many mansions ” in His 
Father’s house, which He would prepare for them in order that 
they might dwell with Him. He prayed the Father that those 
who had believed on Him might be with Him and behold His 
glory. He assured those whom He was about to leave that their 
separation would be brief. And the same assurance is for each 
and every one who shall believe in Him. The natural meaning 
of His promises, and the general tenor of His hints and intima¬ 
tions regarding the period following death, is that when the soul 
of the believer leaves the body it enters at once' into a happy 
abode and continues in the possession of its mental and spiritual 
powers. Concerning the immediate future of those who have 
not, in this life, ranged themselves on His side, Christ said but 
little, but we find nothing to indicate that they will cease to be 
living and intelligent beings. We believe that a careful study 
of the words of Christ will lead to the conviction that He de¬ 
signed to teach that death makes no appreciable break in the 
conscious existence of the soul. 

Whether what Christ has told us concerning Dives and Laza¬ 
rus is a description of an actual scene, or is a figurative repre¬ 
sentation, does not, in the slightest degree, change 

Dives and Lazarus. ^ Erection ^ m()dify the force Q f jfe iH Ust ration 

regarding the condition of departed souls. So far as this point 
is concerned, it does not matter in the least whether we are deal¬ 
ing with history or with parable. In either case the narrative 
teaches, plainly and emphatically, that life does not cease when 
the soul enters the world which opens to it at death. The rich 
man, the beggar, and the Patriarch Abraham are each and all 
represented as living; as remembering the earthly life, not merely 
in a general manner but in detail; and as having capacities for 


THE LIFE BEYOND 


347 

pleasure and pain as truly and as fully as they had while they 
dwelt in this world. 

Here we obtain far more convincing testimony in favor of the 
doctrine that the souls of all men, without regard to eminence 
or to character, remain conscious during the great 
intermediate period of their existence than we have strongtest,mony ' 
previously secured. Samuel and Moses were distinguished per¬ 
sons, and at their appearance in this world after death they were 
special messengers of God. If there were no other evidence 
we would have reason to fear that the continuance of life was 
granted because of their noble characters and their eminent ser¬ 
vices while they were upon the earth. This would offer encour¬ 
agement to the comparatively few who, in every age, devote 
themselves without reserve to the service of God and their fellow 
men, but it would hold out but little hope for the masses of the 
people, who, themselves being judges, fail to reach the higher 
levels of existence. Some of the ancients believed that a life 
beyond the present would be granted to the great and good, but 
would be withheld from all who failed to reach distinction in 
these respects. It was perfectly natural for those who had not 
received a special revelation from God to accept this idea. And 
if we had no more light than comes from the fact that the two 
eminent servants of the Lord who have been named had not 
perished at death, we should be very likely to fear that such a 
survival would not be general, but would be reserved for those 
who had become noted in His service. We certainly should 
have reason to fear that such would be the case. 

In the narrative of the rich man and the beggar we have evi¬ 
dence which should set all such doubts at rest. Of the three 
persons who are named, only one had become emi- conscious ufe 
nent while he was upon earth. The rich man be- foralL 
longed to a great class of people who live for self rather than for 
God. They may not be vicious, according to human codes they 
may not be transgressors of any law, and yet in making their 
own pleasure the chief end and object of their being they violate 
the Divine command and fail to accomplish the purpose for 
which they were sent into the world. The beggar was simply 
one of the class of the poor and the unfortunate who are always 
in the world. Thus the representatives of the masses of the peo¬ 
ple, as well as of the few who rise far above them, are spoken of 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


348 

in the Scriptures as having retained their consciousness after 
death. They did not perish, and did not sink into an insensible 
condition. On the contrary, they appeared to be as fully en¬ 
dowed with life as they had been while they were active in the 
world. This being the case, every man has a right to expect 
that his conscious existence will go on after he leaves the body 
as truly and as clearly as it did while he was in this present 
world. 

Another argument in favor of the belief that death does not 
destroy the consciousness of the soul is found in the case of the 
The penitent penitent thief whom Christ pardoned while upon the 

thief. cross, and to whom He promised an immediate en¬ 

trance into paradise. We are aware that some claim to find a 
different meaning in this narrative. They believe that the pre¬ 
dicted meeting was to occur, but that it would be long post¬ 
poned. It seems to us that they are mistaken. We find no 
hint of a suspension of conscious being. Everything in the nar¬ 
rative which bears upon this point suggests a continuance of the 
personal life, with all the mental powers unharmed. Christ not 
only promises the new disciple a place in which to dwell, but He 
also assures him of companionship with Himself. We cannot 
believe that He would have done this if the death of the peni¬ 
tent was to be followed by a long period of unconsciousness. 

In the writings of the Apostle Paul we also find abundant 
evidence that the event of death does not end the conscious life 
of the soul. In writing to the church at Corinth, in 
regard to death and its effect upon the body and the 
soul, he says that he is of good courage and is “ willing rather 
to be absent from the body, and to be at home with the Lord.” 
He was contented to live or to die, as the will of God might be, 
but his preference was to depart from the earth. In his letter 
to the Philippians he makes the bold assertion that “ for to me 
to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Other statements of the 
same tenor might be quoted, but these are sufficient for our pur¬ 
pose. They are clear, direct, and forcible. They prove, beyond 
all question, that Paul fully believed that death would usher him 
immediately into a more desirable state of being than he could 
possibly attain in this world. 

When we consider what manner of man it was who wrote 
these words we shall see that they are of the deepest significance 


The desire of 
Paul. 


THE LIFE BEYOND 


349 

and the most profound importance. Had some young convert 
to the Christian faith, who was filled with enthusiasm and burn¬ 
ing with zeal as he entered his new course of life and commenced 
operations in the field of labor which was thus opened to him, 
uttered similar declarations, we should feel compelled to make 
some allowance for his want of experience. Or, if the same 
statements had been made by a man whose emotional nature 
was very strong, and who was sometimes “ carried away ” by his 
feelings, we might consider it necessary to abate somewhat from 
their natural meaning. It would be only fair to expect, or at 
least to fear, that when the novelty had commenced to wear away 
and the pressure of the self-denial and the toil which noble Chris¬ 
tian living requires came to be more fully realized, the one who 
at first was so ready to give up all things, even life itself, would 
gradually come to place a much higher relative value upon the 
blessings of the present world. And when his excitement had 
passed, we should not be at all surprised if the man who, in the 
midst of a great revival meeting, had longed for an immediate 
entrance into the unseen world should conclude that it would 
be better for him to remain for the present with the church on 
earth. In cases like these, justice requires that we take into 
consideration the temperament of the speaker and the circum¬ 
stances under which his declarations are made. 

The words of Paul, which we have quoted, do not require the 
slightest qualification. Paul was not young in the school of 
Christ when they were written, and he was not one who would 
allow his emotions to control his judgment. He was a man of 
mighty intellect and noble character. He knew the exact mean¬ 
ing of words and we may be sure that he really meant just what 
the words which he used imply. There was not the slightest 
exaggeration in the assertions that he was willing to leave this 
world, and that, in his opinion, it would be gain for him to die. 

It is unquestionably true that Paul believed that death would 
at once introduce him, as a living and thinking being, into the 
spiritual world. He had no fear of sinking into Better than the 
unconsciousness, or of losing, in any degree, his P reaentr 'f e - 
mental powers, though he did not expect that death would 
bring him to a state of perfection. That condition, he knew and 
affirmed, could not be attained until the resurrection, when the 
spirit would be united with, the glorified body. Still,, he regarded 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


350 

the state which is immediately entered at death as an advance 
upon the present form of existence. It would not only be in 
the line of improvement, but it would be “far better” than life 
here can possibly become. 

Now, in the estimation of such a man as Paul, in order to be 
a better condition than that of this world, consciousness would 
be an absolute necessity. While he was here he was in close 
communion with Christ, and this intimate relationship was sure 
to continue as long as he remained in this world. Here, too, he 
was actively engaged in efforts for the advancement of the cause 
of his Master, and in these arduous labors he found peace and 
joy. If death was to bring a long interval of absolute uncon¬ 
sciousness, equivalent to an extinction of his being for ages, he 
could not have regarded it as a friend. Instead of being a gain, 
the new condition would be a great loss. The sense of fellow¬ 
ship with Christ would depart and all work for Him would cease. 
If the Apostle had believed that death brought such conse¬ 
quences as these he would have desired to live in this world as 
long as possible. The fact that he was willing to depart proves 
that he expected that life would go on without interruption, and 
that he would continue in communion with Christ after he had 
entered the spiritual world. We cannot believe that Paul was 
mistaken in his belief that life persists beyond the grave. 

In the book of the Revelation the Apostle John describes his 
vision of the martyrs who await the time at which their integrity 
The souis of the shall be made clear. They long to see justice meted 
martyrs. out j - 0 wicked who in this world persecuted them 

unto death, and they desire to receive the reward which is to be 
given them for their own fidelity and sufferings. The Apostle 
says: “ I saw underneath the altar the souls of them that had 
been slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which 
they held: and they cried with a great voice, saying, How long, 
O Master, the holy and true, dost Thou not judge and avenge 
our blood on them that dwell on the earth ? ” These souls are 
represented as in the full possession of their intellectual powers. 
They remembered the experiences through which they had 
passed while they were upon the earth and were able to make 
known to others their feelings and their desires. Evidently 
death did not close their conscious existence. When this vision 
was recorded only a comparatively brief period had elapsed 


THE LIFE BEYOND 


351 

since the persecution of Christians was begun. Had there been 
any prolonged sleep after death the souls which the Apostle 
saw would doubtless have been in an insensible condition. 
From the fact that they were then living and conscious we may 
infer that the souls of all other servants of God who have de¬ 
parted from earth, many of whom were as zealous and devoted 
as were their persecuted brethren, are also conscious from the 
time of their leaving the present world. 

One of the great doctrines of the Christian religion is that 
the Spirit of God finds a home in every believer in Christ. In 
the eighth chapter of his Epistle to the Romans the 

a 1 1 1 f . . . . t The Holy Spirit 

Apostle Paul brings out this idea with great clear¬ 
ness, and it appears in various other portions of the New Testa¬ 
ment. Christ promised that this Spirit should come, and from 
the depths of their own experience millions of men have testi¬ 
fied that the promise has been fulfilled. We believe that at 
some time in his life this Spirit strives with every man. With 
those who receive Him He abides forevermore. Their bodies 
perish at death, it is true, but this is only a temporary depriva¬ 
tion. The soul is not destroyed. If we admit that while the 
soul of the believer remains in the body it is in constant union 
with the Spirit of God, it seems as though we must believe that 
this union never will be impaired. It appears incredible that at 
death the soul should be deserted by this Divine Presence, and 
be allowed to fall into as utter ruin as comes to the physical 
frame. While this is not an argument of universal application, 
for some men refuse to admit the Spirit to their souls, it should 
be given a great deal of weight in the cases of those who have 
had a living faith in Christ. 

From the earliest days of the Christian church the doctrine 
of the persistence of conscious life beyond the grave has been 
accepted by the great majority of its members. A doctrine of 
Many, in all, have not given it their assent, it is Chri8tianit ^ 
true. The doctrine that from the moment of death until the 
resurrection the soul remains in a profound sleep has frequently 
come into some degree of prominence, but after a short time its 
influence has declined. Many who have embraced this theory 
have been noted both for ability and for piety. They have 
brought forward various arguments to support their view. Some 
of these are plausible and offer an easy solution of a problem 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


352 

which, with any other theory, presents real difficulties. Still, for 
reasons which have already been stated, we must adhere to the 
conviction that, though the Bible often refers to death as a 
sleep, it does not warrant the supposition that the soul becomes 
unconscious. The term “sleep,” as used in the connection noted, 
is used to indicate rest, refreshment, and peace of the soul. 
And this is what the great mass of Christians have understood 
it to mean. While they have varied in belief as to the place 
which the soul enters at death, some holding that it is heaven 
itself, and others that it is a realm intermediate between earth 
and heaven, they have been in full accord in their views regard¬ 
ing the consciousness and blessedness of the souls of all the fol¬ 
lowers of Christ from the very hour of their leaving the body 
and passing into the unseen world. 

Throughout the world we find a law of progress in constant 
operation. This law has been working for untold ages. In the 
The law of pro- book of nature we find the record of its vast accom- 
gress ' plishments. Revelation also shows that much has 

been gained, and points to wonderful results which are yet to 
be secured. We can see something of the mighty march of 
progress in our own day. As Christianity extends its influence 
and the peoples of the earth become civilized, there is a vast 
improvement in the condition of individuals and of society, and 
a wonderful betterment in the appearance, and increase in the 
productiveness, of the region in which the new doctrines have 
been accepted and the new principles have been applied. Year 
by year the area in which these great forces of religion and 
civilization become the controlling powers is greatly enlarged. 
There is also an upward movement in the countries in which 
religion has long been established. The spiritual life grows 
stronger. The number of those in which it is manifested is 
constantly increasing. There is a great and continuous pro¬ 
gress along all spiritual lines,, and; a remarkable increase in the 
degree of efficiency with which the various kinds of service 
which religion demands is performed. 

It is expected of each and every believer in Christ that he 
will never be satisfied with any present attainments, but that he 
will constantly strive to come nearer to the perfect standard of 
character which the Saviour has furnished for his imitation. 
Whatever he has been, or has done before his conversion will 



CHRIST CHURCH, PHILADELPHIA, PA, 
























































































































THE LIFE BEYOND 


353 

not affect the fact that after he has entered into covenant with 
God, and into personal relations with Jesus Christ, he is bound 
to be loyal to his Creator and useful to his fellow men. His 
life and all his powers have, in profession at least, been devoted 
to God. This devotion and this service God demands as His 
right, though He promises a rich reward to all by whom it is 
rendered. He takes a deep interest in every one of His chil¬ 
dren, and constantly watches over each and all. He takes plea¬ 
sure in their progress in the Divine life and delights in their 
prayer and their praise. 

Now if God has ordained this law of progress, the effects of 
which we see in the world around us, and which appears to be 
the law of the universe, we may feel sure that it will Thlslau) 
continue in force throughout the spiritual realm. universaL 
And if He takes such interest in His children during the brief 
period which they spend upon the earth, we are justified in the 
belief that His care will be over them during the time which 
they pass in the intermediate realm. But in order that the law 
of progress may prevail in the spiritual world it is necessary 
that the condition of the souls by which that world is inhabited 
should be one of conscious life. And if the long period between 
death and the resurrection is to be of benefit to the individual 
soul it is plain that consciousness and intelligence must persist. 
The same is true if, during this time, the soul is to render any 
service to its God. Here the service of the believer is imper¬ 
fect, but it is something, and it is pleasing to Him. If, at death, 
the soul loses all knowledge of itself, praise and worship and 
spiritual activity of every kind must cease. 

We cannot consider the case of even one soul without being 
strongly impressed by the fact that if it remains unconscious for 
ages there will be a loss of great possibilities of hap- 

V , r , ^ i . • An immense toss. 

piness and usefulness. But the question we are 
considering concerns, not merely one, but a countless number 
of souls. And when we include in our thought the vast multi¬ 
tude which are now in the unseen world, and the incalculable 
number of others which will be gathered there before the closing 
of the present dispensation, we are not merely surprised but 
amazed at the magnitude of the aggregate loss which will thus 
be incurred. For, if conscious life does not persist, millions 
upon millions of souls, with each passing generation, are leav- 

23 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


354 

ing a life of love, and service, and worship of God, to sink into 
insensibility and, so far as we are able to discover, into absolute 
uselessness. 

If consciousness does not persist, the time will come when the 
souls of the vast majority of the whole human race will be 
entirely oblivious of themselves, and of everything 

The evidence , J 0 

favors conscious- m which they ever have been interested. As com¬ 
pared with the total number, only the merest hand¬ 
ful can live upon the earth at any one time. So, though the 
population may be far greater than it now is, when the last gen¬ 
eration that is to inhabit this world in its present form reaches 
the stage of action, its membership cannot be compared with 
the innumerable host which have departed this life. Of those 
who remain until the last, a large proportion will doubtless be 
earnest and faithful Christians. Their prayers and praises will 
ascend to God, and will be pleasing to Him. But the souls of 
the countless millions which will then form the vast congrega¬ 
tion of the dead will be as silent as are the graves in which 
their bodies were laid. That such will be the case we cannot 
believe. It would not be in accordance with the great plan 
which has been in operation from the beginning of the creation 
until the present time. It does not commend itself to reason, 
and we cannot find warrant for it in the Scriptures. On the con¬ 
trary, the evidence of science, of reason, and of the Bible is in 
favor of the doctrine that death neither terminates nor interrupts 
the conscious life of the soul. 

The doctrine that conscious life persists brings comfort to 
those who mourn and should cheer the hearts of those to whom 
a comforting death is yet to come. It softens our grief to feel 
doctrine. that the dear ones who have gone from earth have 

not perished, and have not become unconscious. Erelong we 
shall cross the line which separates them from us now. We 
shall leave all earthly possessions, and the bodies in which we 
have dwelt, but we shall not cease to live. Perhaps we shall be 
weary with the sufferings and the conflicts of the past. If so, 
we shall have all the rest we desire. But this will not be found 
in a loss of consciousness. In this world we often rest at times 
when we do not sleep. A change of place, or of employment, 
or the turning of our thoughts in a new direction, proves suf¬ 
ficient for our needs. Perhaps, in this respect, the existence 


THE LIFE BEYOND 


355 

beyond will be similar to life in this world, though, as has 
already been stated, it seems probable that when it is set free 
from the body the soul will not be subject to fatigue. In either 
case we may look forward to a life that is conscious and intelli¬ 
gent and that is continuous with the present. Bishop Phillips 
Brooks regarded death as “ an event in life ” and not at all as 
the closing of existence. The evidence in favor of this view is 
very strong. Death is a momentous event, but it does not check 
the conscious life of the soul. 


CHAPTER XXIII 


THE PLACE OF DEPARTED SOULS 

When our friends are called away from earth it is a great 
comfort to feel that they have not passed out of conscious exist¬ 
ence. It is also a cheering thought that when we 
a natural inquiry. £ q jj ow th e m, as we shall surely do erelong, we shall 

not perish but shall merely be transferred, as they have been, 
from one place and state of existence to another. But this is 
not all that we want to know concerning those who have gone, 
or regarding what will befall us when we depart this life. One 
of the questions which we ask, often and earnestly, relates to the 
place in which the souls of those who come under the dominion 
of death abide. 

It is not an idle curiosity which prompts this desire for know¬ 
ledge regarding the home of the dead. It is natural that we 
should want to know where those who have been called away 
have gone, and where we, too, must go when the earthly taber¬ 
nacle which shelters us now shall perish. While we are con¬ 
fident that life continues, we are also sure that the change which 
is wrought by death is one of great and solemn import. We 
cannot afford to exclude it from our thoughts or to treat it with 
unconcern. We do not think lightly of a journey to a foreign 
land, or to some distant city in our own country. We want to 
know the location of the place which we hope to reach, as well 
as many other things which are involved in securing a residence 
there. So, when we think of this great journey of death, which 
in importance infinitely transcends all the journeys of earth, we 
long for information as to where we are going, and the nature 
of the place at which our course shall end. It is not enough to 
know that life will be prolonged, and that we shall go some¬ 
where when we leave this world. We cannot remain content 
with this. We must press our inquiries further. 

It may be confidently' asserted that there is a real place in 
which the souls of the departed abide. They are not wander- 


THE LIFE BEYOND 357 

ing around in space without homes or friends. God has un¬ 
doubtedly provided some place for them as truly as Arealplace 
He has for His children who are now upon earth. 

The place, too, is suited to the needs of those by whom it is 
occupied. In some respects it may resemble this world. In 
others it will be widely different. But it will have all the reality 
of a definite place in which the soul can find just the home 
which it requires. 

There are many who hold that the soul goes to its final home 
as soon as it leaves the body. Others believe that it passes into 
an intermediate place in which it remains until the Pe rhapsnotthe 
resurrection. These differing views will be con- ultimate home - 
sidered in due time. The doctrine with which we are now 
concerned is that when a man dies his soul goes to some clearly 
defined locality. It leaves the world because the world is no 
longer fitted to be its home. The soul that is separate from the 
body needs a very different environment from that which it 
required while it dwelt in the flesh. This it finds in its new 
abode. 

There are many persons who believe that at death the soul 
passes into some special state or condition instead of a definite 
locality. A number of writers, some of whom are A state instead of 
of considerable eminence, have adopted this view. ap/ace - 
Their idea is very difficult to comprehend. Doubtless many a 
man who has carefully studied this subject has come to the 
same conclusion as did the late Professor Stearns, who said: 
“ Those who talk of states rather than places in the other world 
use language which may have meaning to themselves, but which 
conveys none to my mind.” 1 

Place seems to be absolutely necessary to existence. What¬ 
ever exists, be it body or soul, material or spiritual, must be 
somewhere. The mind cannot conceive of a being Mustbesome . 
with no place in which to exist. If it were proved where ' 
that there is no locality in which the souls that have left this 
world find a home, it would, by the same process of reasoning, 
be demonstrated that these souls had disappeared from the uni¬ 
verse. Such a belief cannot be sanctioned either by religion or 
by science. Neither does it appeal to reason. We cannot 
think of the souls of the vast army of the dead who are to be 

1 Lewis French Stearns, Present Day Theology . 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


35S 

gathered for the final judgment as being nowhere during the 
period which intervenes between death and the resurrection. 
If these souls are alive they are somewhere, and, consequently, 
must be in some definite place. From this it does not follow 
that the soul is confined to a particular spot, as a prisoner on 
earth is confined in a prison cell. It may be, and probably will 
be, able to change its locality quickly and easily. It is not 
unlikely that it will have a greater degree of freedom than it did 
before it was separated from the body, but this will not give it 
the power to be either nowhere or everywhere. As long as it 
continues in being it will be somewhere. Locality is, and for¬ 
ever will be, essential to its existence. 

Still, as regards the departed soul, the idea of state is closely 
connected with that of place. There must be a place; but this 
a place, but also alone would not be sufficient. It needs to be quali- 
a state. fied t j ie s t a t e or character of the soul. A great 

deal of the joy and of the sorrow in this world is due to the 
habits and disposition of the individual to whom these experi¬ 
ences come. Neither happiness nor misery depends wholly upon 
place or surroundings. The same law will prevail in the spirit¬ 
ual world. There is no place in the universe in which a wicked 
man could have all the joys of heaven, or one of saintly character 
could suffer all the miseries of hell. The springs of happiness 
and of misery are largely within the soul. Paul was happy while 
in a prison. Herod was miserable while on a throne. The godly 
man has a peace that does not depend upon outward condi¬ 
tions, and the criminal is tormented by his own conscience. 
Therefore, when we think of the future life we should keep con¬ 
stantly in mind the fact that the quality of that existence is 
modified by the character of the soul as truly as it is by the 
place in which it finds a home. 

It is not necessary to repeat at length what has been said in 
regard to the views of the early races of mankind upon this sub- 
Eany views j ect * We have seen that the opinions of different 
peoples were widely diverse, and that in the course 
of the history of some of the most prominent of these nations 
there were marked changes of belief. Some have thought that 
the departing soul ascended to the sky, while others held that it 
went to a dark underworld. There has also been a difference of 
opinion as to whether all souls went to one place, or whether 


THE LIFE BEYOND 


359 

the good and the bad were sent to separate localities. In the 
Old Testament the dead are spoken of as being in Sheol, a dark 
underworld. In many places in the King James version this 
term was rendered hell. At some times in their history the 
Hebrews regarded this as the common home of departed spirits. 
At others they appear to have thought of it as containing a 
separate abode for the wicked. This they called Gehenna. The 
Greeks named the home of the departed Hades, but they divided 
it into two regions, — Elysium, the place of the good, and Tar¬ 
tarus, the abode of the wicked Many of the early Christians 
held that at death all souls entered Hades, which was regarded 
as an intermediate realm, in which they would be detained until 
the resurrection, at which time the good would enter heaven 
and the bad would be consigned to hell. Like the Greeks, too, 
they believed that the righteous and the wicked occupied sepa¬ 
rate portions of this abode. The latter idea, however, was not 
universal. There were many who held that Hades was merely 
the common home of souls that had departed from this world. 

The word “ paradise ” was originally used to designate a beau¬ 
tiful park or garden, and was a common term in Oriental lands. 
Lono: before the cominsr of Christ it was familiar to 
the Jewish people. It was applied by them to Eden, 
the home of our first parents and the abode of innocence and 
bliss. It was also often employed to designate the place of the 
blessed dead. To their minds it pictured a delightful home in 
which the righteous would dwell in happiness and security. 
Some appear to have regarded it as a temporary abode in which 
the good were to dwell until the resurrection. Others held that 
it was at least a part of heaven, and the final abode of those who 
should enter the kingdom of God. 

The same difference of opinion is seen at the present day, and 
among the people of perhaps all Christian lands. But whether 
the name is used to denote “ some vestibule of the heavenly 
kingdom ” in which the good find their home until the present 
dispensation shall close, or is employed to represent heaven 
itself, it conveys the idea of a peaceful and a happy region into 
which evil can never come. It is a fitting designation of the 
country into which the faithful children of God enter when they 
leave the cares and lay down the burdens which are inseparable 
from the earthly life. 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


360 

So far as we know, Christ used the word “ paradise’’ only once 
during His life upon the earth. This single instance was while 
The promise of he was hanging upon the cross. One of the thieves 
ohrist who h ac [ k een crucified with Him repented of his 

sin and cried for mercy only a few hours before his death. In 
answer to the prayer of the dying malefactor Christ assured 
him that upon the very day, which was then drifting into the 
past, they would be together in paradise. We are not told 
where this place of meeting was located. But the term itself, 
and the manner in which it was used, prove beyond all question 
that after his death the soul of the penitent criminal was to be 
in a real place, as well as in a state or condition of happiness. 
This being assured, we may have full confidence that in the 
world beyond the one in which we now abide there is a place 
for every human soul. 

Another evidence that the souls of men pass from some defi¬ 
nite locality in this world to some equally certain region in an 
visions of martyr unseen realm is found in the visions of the martyr 
ana Apostles. Stephen, and of the Apostles Paul and John, which 
are recorded in the New Testament. Of the former, it is said 
that he “ looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory 
of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God.” Paul 
declares that on a certain occasion he had been “ caught up into 
paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful 
for a man to utter.” John had many visions. Of these, one of 
the most magnificent was a view of “ the holy city Jerusalem,” 
which had no need of either the sun or the moon to shine upon 
it, for it was lighted by the glory of God and of the Lamb. 
Now in each of these visions a definite locality was observed. 
And there was nothing mystical or unreal about the character 
or the condition of the places which were said to have been 
seen. Each observer knew that he saw something, and he had 
a clearly defined idea of what that something was. Coming to 
us, as they do, with the authority of the Word of God, the state¬ 
ments which these men have made must be accepted as valid 
testimony that the spiritual world is as truly a locality as is the 
earth upon which we now have our homes. 

In modern times opinions as to the place which the soul en¬ 
ters at death have been as numerous and as conflicting as they 
were at any previous period in the history of the world. The 


THE LIFE BEYOND 361 

materialist, as we have seen, teaches that instead of going to a 
new home the soul passes out of existence when it 
leaves the body. We cannot accept his doctrine. Modern oplniona " 
We are confident that life proceeds without interruption. 

There are, also, philosophers who assure us that the soul is 
immaterial, and that, for this reason, we are not warranted in 
speaking of it as going anywhere. With the practical man this 
objection will have no weight. He is more anxious to obtain 
facts than he is to express his thoughts in strictly philosophical 
phrases. He believes that if the soul continues to exist after 
death it must be somewhere. He is sure that it does not remain 
in the dead body. It must be “ elsewhere or nowhere.” There¬ 
fore, all who hold that the soul does not perish at death are com¬ 
pelled to believe that when it parts from the body it finds another 
place, which is just as real as was the body in which it was born, 
and in which the current of its life can continue to flow. 

There are many who believe that until Christ descended into 
Hades, after His death upon the cross, the souls of all who de¬ 
parted this life passed into this great kingdom of the a change wrought 
dead and were there detained. The good, however, by Christ 
who had served God according to the light which they had re¬ 
ceived, and many of whom had earnestly longed for the coming 
of the Messiah, were in the pleasantest part of the realm. The 
bad occupied another and a more gloomy division, while the 
hopelessly wicked were imprisoned in a bottomless pit from 
which they never could be released. 

The descent of Christ into Hades, and His proclamation of 
the Gospel to its inhabitants, wrought a wonderful change in 
this dreary realm When He departed He took with Him a 
mighty host of souls who had accepted Him as their Saviour, 
and who, on account of this act of faith, were set free from their 
captivity and were granted an immediate entrance into Heaven. 
Those who rejected Him remained in the kingdom of death. 
From that time only the souls which have failed to become 
united to Christ enter this underworld. The souls of all who 
have placed their trust in Him pass directly into Heaven when 
they leave the body. In these two places, Hades and Heaven, 
the souls of the dead will be constantly gathering until the pre¬ 
sent dispensation shall close, and here they will await the sum¬ 
mons to the general judgment of mankind. 

23 * 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


362 

Perhaps the view just stated is the most widely held of any 
which finds acceptance among Christian people. It has long 
been a standard doctrine with some of the large and 
a common mew. £ n fj uen ^£ a i branches of the Church. In the Homily 
against the Fear of Death, which has been used by the Church 
of England some three hundred and fifty years, is found the 
statement “ that death delivering us from our bodies, doth send 
us straight home into our own country, and maketh us to dwell 
presently with God forever in everlasting rest and quietness.” 
About a century later the Westminster Confession of Faith, 
perhaps the most clear, forcible, and complete statement of reli¬ 
gious doctrine which has ever been formulated, was given to the 
world. The paragraph which refers to the topic which we have 
now under consideration reads as follows: “ The bodies of men, 
after death, return to dust, and see corruption; but their souls 
(which neither die nor sleep), having an immortal subsistence, 
immediately return to God who gave them. The souls of the 
righteous, being then made perfect in holiness, are received into 
the highest heavens, where they behold the face of God in light 
and glory, waiting for the full redemption of their bodies : and 
the souls of the wicked are cast into hell, where they remain in 
torments and utter darkness, reserved to the judgment of the 
great day. Besides these two places for souls separated from 
their bodies, the Scripture acknowledgeth none.” 1 While this 
Confession is the recognized standard of doctrine of the Presby¬ 
terian Church, in this country and abroad, its teaching in respect 
to the character of the place which will be occupied by the souls 
of men who have departed this life are in harmony with that of 
various other denominations. 

There are, however, a great many people who believe that 
from the hour of death to the time of the resurrection the soul 
Another theory dwells in a place that is best described as an inter¬ 
mediate realm. They find reasons in the Scriptures 
for this belief, and there are evidences derived from other sources 
which seem to give considerable support to the theory. In com¬ 
mon with those who reject the idea of any “ middle place,” they 
admit that during the interval between its departure from this 
world and its union with the body to which it is to be joined in 
its final state, the soul is in an imperfect condition. This condi- 

1 The Westminster Confession of Faith, chapter xxxii. 1. 


THE LIFE BEYOND 


3 6 3 

tion may be very much better than that to which it was sub¬ 
jected before its separation from the body, and yet be greatly 
inferior to that which will prevail when the new body has been 
assumed. It is reasonable to suppose that this will be the case. 

We can see no greater objection to the doctrine of an inter¬ 
mediate place for souls than we can to the theory that for a time 
after leaving the body these souls are in an inter- Doct rine ofan 
mediate state or condition. Why they should enter 
their final home before they reach their final condi- treasonable. 
tion of existence we do not understand. From what we know 
of the laws which prevail in the natural world we are justified 
in supposing that in the spiritual realm the environment will 
be suited to the needs of the souls which dwell therein. But 
unless there is a marked change in the character of souls as 
they leave this world, an intermediate abode would seem to be 
absolutely necessary to the furnishing of such an environment. 

In this world we have only the beginnings of the spiritual 
existence. The great majority of those who try to follow Christ 
make but little progress in the Divine life. Even Weareonry 
the great Apostle Paul, after he had become eminent be ^ inner8 here - 
in the work of the Lord, felt that he had many imperfections. 
He wrote to the Philippians that he had not been “made per¬ 
fect,” but was still striving to reach “ the prize of the high calling 
of God in Christ Jesus.” Yet, as compared with the Apostle, 
the mass of Christians are people of very ordinary attainments 
in piety. Multitudes who are trying to follow the path of duty 
are only “ babes in Christ.” Compared with the number of those 
who hope to be saved, there are very few who consider them¬ 
selves, or whom other people believe to be, fully prepared to 
enter heaven. As a rule, to which there are but few exceptions, 
the life of earth is upon a far lower plane than the life of the 
world which is to be the final home of all who are saved through 
Christ. Those who live the noblest lives admit that they fall far 
below the requirements of a holy God, while those who have had 
less light, or who have made less effort, are manifestly unfit to 
enter a realm in which holiness is the test of admission. 

We do not deny that God has the power to make the soul of 
the weakest and most immature Christian “ perfect Not impossible 
in holiness ” in the article of death, and thus fit it to wHh Ood - 
be “ received into the highest heavens ” in the very moment in 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


364 

which it leaves the body. Neither are we prepared to assert 
that He does not do this. But it seems to us that such a course 
would not be in accordance with His method of working as it 
has been revealed to us along other lines. Throughout the 
natural world everything proceeds in accordance with a regular 
order of growth and development. In the mental world the 
same process is observed. In both of these realms everything 
goes on in a steady and a uniform manner. 

So far as it lies within the limits of our observation, the same 
is true of the spiritual world. The religious life follows a line of 
Not the natural growth and development just as truly as does the 
order. physical or the mental life. The great sinner does 

not at once become a great saint. Like every one else who 
enters it he must begin at the beginning in the school of Christ. 
And he must learn just as others learn. He must go over the 
whole course. It will not do for him to omit anything. And 
he is not authorized to expect any special manifestation of Divine 
power in his behalf. God will help him if he prays in faith, just 
as He will help any other man who comes to Him in a proper 
spirit and presents a reasonable request. In each and every 
case the man who complies with the conditions upon which the 
promises of God are based is the man who obtains the blessing 
which is desired. 

It seems reasonable to expect that the law which is so uni¬ 
versal in this world will continue in force after the soul has 
No violent change passed into another realm. If this supposition is 
expected. correct, the soul enters the place of departed spirits 
with just the same character as it had when it parted from the 
body. Its degree of development is just the same in the first 
moment of its life in the spiritual world that it was in the last 
moment of its stay upon the earth. The man who was weak and 
wavering on this side of the river of death does not become a 
strong and courageous saint the instant that he reaches the other 
bank. The event of death, solemn and momentous though it is, 
cannot be expected to make of a halting Christian, who has only 
a trembling hope of being saved, a fearless and triumphant saint 
like the Apostle Paul. All that we seem justified in expecting 
it to do is to place the soul under better conditions for growth 
and development than it had while it remained in the body. 

Probably the great majority of Protestants who reject the doc- 


THE LIFE BEYOND 365 

trine that there is a place, between this world and the final abode 
of souls, in which the departed remain until the resur- Differencein 
rection, are not nearly as widely separated in belief opinion ’ 
from those who hold that there is an intermediate realm, as a 
superficial examination of their views would indicate. Many 
who hold that all Christians enter heaven when they die believe 
that large numbers who are weak and ignorant will be admitted. 
They expect, however, that these apparently unqualified ones 
will be strengthened and instructed, and will thus gradually be¬ 
come fitted for citizenship in the new realm. 

There are others who believe that this work of preparation 
and development must be done before, instead of after, the soul 
enters heaven. It seems to them that there is an intermediate 
realm in which this work is carried on. In the educational insti¬ 
tutions of this world we require pupils to be fitted for entrance 
before they are admitted. We do not send them from the pri¬ 
mary school directly to the university. Between these two points 
there must be a great deal of study and discipline. There are 
schools of various grades in which all the necessary preparation 
for still higher studies can be obtained. Something similar to 
this may be provided for the spiritual development and educa¬ 
tion of souls in the intermediate realm. This will be considered 
in a later chapter. The point to be established here is that the 
existence of an intermediate place for souls which have been 
separated from their earthly bodies is not at all unreasonable. 

Another reason for believing that at death the soul enters an 
intermediate realm instead of its final home is found in the fact 
that such a supposition seems to harmonize much n , . x t 

1 r *ii Relation of the 

better than any other theory with the usually re- ptace of the soui 
ceived doctrine of the general judgment. The judg- thejud9ment 
ment, which, so far as mankind are concerned, is universal, is to 
take place at the close of the present dispensation. Then the 
righteous and the wicked will appear in their resurrection bodies, 
with which they have just been clothed, and a judicial decision 
regarding the character of each individual will be rendered in 
the presence of the assembled universe. As the host is gathered 
the vast multitude will be divided into two classes, which will 
remain separated forever. When the decree is pronounced each 
company will go to the place which has been specially prepared 
for its reception. 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


366 

It seems very strange that a soul should enter heaven at the 
moment of death, remain there in supreme happiness for a long 
Reward before period, perhaps for countless ages, and at the close 
acquittal. 0 f the present order of things be brought to a pub¬ 

lic trial, acquitted, and formally declared entitled to a place 
among the blessed ones who had been found faithful in the ser¬ 
vice of God. If it has been in heaven during all the time that 
has passed between the death of the body and the resurrection, 
it is difficult to see why a public announcement of the fact that 
it is righteous should be made. The presence of the soul in the 
home of the saved would be the most convincing evidence which 
could be obtained that it has been fully accepted as a candidate 
for that abode. In some way its character must have been 
tested and determined before the soul could enter heaven. 
After this has been done, and the soul, which is the real man, 
has received part of its reward for fidelity, there does not appear 
to be a reason for making further inquiry as to its deserts. 

The theory that the final home is entered at death presents 
still greater difficulties in the case of the wicked than it does in 
' punishment before its application to the good. If the wicked are con- 
condemnation. signed to hell in the very moment that they die 
there will be millions of souls who, so far as we know, have 
never been tried or condemned, yet who have, for untold ages, 
been compelled to suffer on account of their sins. At the judg¬ 
ment they will have a public trial, will be pronounced guilty, 
and will be sentenced, although the infliction of the punishment 
which these souls are found to deserve commenced thousands 
of years before. As in the case of the good, the judgment can¬ 
not be required in order to determine the character and specify 
the proper place for the soul. All this was settled at death and 
the soul was then committed to its new home. 

The theory that at death the righteous go at once to heaven, 
and the wicked are immediately swallowed up in hell, brings 
„ , tl the trial and the verdict after, instead of before, the 

reward is in part bestowed, or the infliction of pun¬ 
ishment is commenced. If God has ordained this to be the 
order of events He has, undoubtedly, done so for a purpose 
that is both wise and beneficent. No injustice will be done in 
any case. But, apparently at least, the method indicated is not 
in harmony with the ordinary course of the dealings of God 


THE LIFE BEYOND 


367 

with men. The difficulty which this theory involves seems to 
give good ground for the doctrine of an intermediate place in 
which departed souls remain until they are brought to a public 
trial at the close of the life of the human race in this world. It 
is possible, also, that there may have been some admixture of 
error in those forms of presentation of the doctrines of the res¬ 
urrection and the final judgment which have led to the conclu¬ 
sion that for the soul which is absent from the body no place 
except heaven or hell has been provided. This point will be 
considered in separate chapters upon these topics. 

Many who reject the theory that at death the righteous are 
admitted to heaven and the wicked are cast into hell believe 
that as they leave the body all souls pass into a 
common realm in which they remain until the res¬ 
urrection and judgment. Practically they hold, so far as place 
is concerned, to the view which was current among the Hebrews 
and Greeks before the coming of Christ. As to the conditions 
which prevail in this new home they differ widely from the 
ancients and also are at variance among themselves. They are 
at one, however, in the belief that the final home of the soul is 
not entered when it leaves the body. It passes into another 
place, as well as another state of existence. The Greek word 
“hades,” translated hell in the King James version of the Bible, 
answers the purpose of description as fully as any single term 
that can be employed. It stands for an unseen world, but does 
not necessarily involve the idea of punishment for the souls that 
are gathered therein, though many believe that in a certain por¬ 
tion of this realm those who have died without repentance suffer 
for their sins. 

From the narrative, or parable, of the rich man and the beg¬ 
gar, interpreters have formed widely differing theories of the 
place of souls in the period immediately following merent 
death. After stating the great disparity in the con- inter P retations - 
dition of these men while they were in this world, Christ said : 
“And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and that he was 
carried away by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: and the 
rich man also died, and was buried. And in Hades he lifted up 
his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and 
Lazarus in his bosom.” 

Many have assumed that both Dives and Abraham were in 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


368 

Hades. They have supposed the gulf of which the patriarch 
speaks to be a line of separation between two portions of a sin¬ 
gle realm. The good were upon one side of this gulf, the 
wicked upon the other. While there are some reasons in its 
favor, it is not certain that this interpretation can be sustained. 
Christ does not say that the persons named were in the same 
abode. He does say that the rich man saw Abraham and Laza¬ 
rus, but they were “ afar off.” He also states that a conversa¬ 
tion was carried on between Dives and Abraham. If similar 
statements were made regarding occurrences in this world we 
should be sure that the parties who figured in the narrative 
could not have been separated by any very great distance. But 
the case in question relates to the spiritual world, and we have 
no means of knowing with what powers of vision or of hearing 
the occupants of that vast realru may be endowed. The phrase 
“afar off” carries the idea of a wider separation than mere pro¬ 
vinces in a single kingdom would indicate, and goes to prove 
that at death the souls of the righteous and the souls of the 
wicked pass to different abodes in the unseen world. 

These abodes may be temporary and may be exchanged for 
others of the same general nature at the judgment Some have 
ventured to hope that, in the cases of many souls, great moral 
changes may occur during this intermediate period which will 
fit them for a higher state of existence when they enter the final 
home. This matter will receive attention in due time. What 
we wish to emphasize here is that the narrative seems to place 
beyond question the fact that there are actual places, as well as 
states or conditions, for departed souls. 

The establishment of the fact that souls have a real place of 
abode after they leave the body which they have used while on 
a question of the earth is a source of comfort, but it throws no 
locality. light upon the question of locality. It assures us 

that those who have died have found a place in which to dwell, 
and makes it clear that we, too, shall go somewhere when we 
die. But whether this new home is near us, or is so distant 
that the most vivid imagination cannot enable us to form even 
the faintest conception of the immensity of the intervening 
space, it does nothing whatever to determine. 

Unless we conceive of the new home of the soul as so vast 
that a line drawn from any given point, and in any direction, 







TO 


DEDICATION OF SAMUEL TO THE LORD, 















































\ 




































































































jB — 






























' 
















THE LIFE BEYOND 369 

must reach it, we see at once that the popular terms which are 
used to designate the locality of heaven or of hell, or Popular terms 
of an intermediate place which forms a general realm incorrect 
of detention for the souls of all of the dead, must be incorrect. 
It is common to speak of heaven as above the earth, and of hell 
as beneath. But a point that is directly over one man will be 
in the opposite direction to another man who lives on the other 
side of the globe. Besides, owing to the constant motion of the 
earth, a locality which was directly overhead at one hour of the 
day would be in a very different relative position a few hours 
later. 

Some writers have, with a good deal of ingenuity, elaborated 
a theory that the home of the soul between death and the resur¬ 
rection is in a vast abyss, or cavern, in the centre of 
the earth. Here all souls go when they are parted w,th,ntheearth - 
from the bodies which they have animated during the earthly 
life. It is not necessary to suppose that the good and the bad 
occupy separate portions of this underworld realm, though there 
are those who hold that this is the case. 

Various quotations from the Scriptures are employed in sup¬ 
port of this theory. It is noted that when Saul had persuaded 
the woman at En-dor, who had “ a familiar spirit,” to scripture 
call the soul of Samuel from the unseen world, the re f erences - 
prophet and judge asked the wretched and anxious king : “ Why 
hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up ? ” There are, also, 
other references in the narrative to the ascending, or bringing 
up, of the departed spirit. The statement of Christ that, “ As 
Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale; 
so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the 
heart of the earth,” has been accepted, by some, as sufficient 
evidence that the place of departed souls is in the centre of the 
world upon the surface of which their previous life was passed. 
Then, too, the questions of the Apostle Paul in his Epistle to 
the Romans: “ Who shall descend into the abyss ? (that is, to 
bring Christ up from the dead),” and in his Epistle to the Ephe¬ 
sians : “ He ascended, what is it but that He also descended into 
the lower parts of the earth ? ” are, in discussions upon this 
point, given a good deal of prominence. Various other state¬ 
ments, or supposed implications, of the Scriptures are also 
brought into service in behalf of this theory. 

24 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


The Apostles' 
Creed. 


370 

The words, “ He descended into hell,” or their equivalent, 
which are found in that form of the Apostles’ Creed which is 
in the most frequent use, are supposed by some to 
prove that the authors or compilers of that brief but 
comprehensive summary of religious belief were confident that 
the abode of the dead is in the centre of the earth. And there 
is no question that Tertullian, one of the early Church Fathers, 
taught that after His death Christ spent three days in “ the 
most inward and innermost recess ” of this present world. 
This, however, does not appear to have been the general opinion 
of the Fathers, and it certainly is not the prevailing doctrine of 
the present day. 

We believe that, in both the Scriptures and the Creed, the 
language which is quoted as evidence upon this point is figura¬ 
tive rather than literal. In the passages which have here been 
noticed, and in others of a similar purport, there was no attempt 
to locate the place in which the souls which have left this world 
find their home. This was not the object which the writers had 
in view. What they said in respect to locality was, we believe, 
merely incidental. They used, just as people of the present 
day are constantly using, common terms in a general way, and 
without reference to their strict scientific meanings. 

The theory that the soul goes to the centre of the earth when 
it departs from the body does not seem probable, and, certainly 
in the cases of the good, does not commend itself 
to reason. Neither does it find support in science. 
Although geologists are not agreed as to the condition of the 
interior of the globe upon which we dwell, they have proved 
enough to make it plain that it is not such a place as we should 
expect a loving Father would provide as a home for His chil¬ 
dren during the period which is bounded on one side by*death 
and on the other by the resurrection of the dead. It seems 
to us that both the evidence and the probabilities are strongly 
against the theory that at death the soul goes to a place that “ is 
situated down, beneath our feet, in the centre or the heart of the 
earth.” 

Another theory regarding the place of the departed is that it 
is located in an invisible universe, interpenetrating 
the one which we see, and governed by different 
laws from those to which matter is subject, yet as real and sub- 


Reason and 
science. 


Worlds within 
worlds. 


THE LIFE BEYOND 


37 1 

stantial as is the system of worlds concerning which we obtain 
information through our senses. Though at first this seems to 
be an absurd conception, a careful and extended examination of 
the evidences in its favor has convinced many eminent students 
that it is not only not impossible, but that it is not more improb¬ 
able than are various other conclusions which science has clearly 
demonstrated to be in full accordance with the facts which they 
seek to explain. 

This theory is not new, but it has been more frequently and 
more forcibly brought to the attention of the public during the 
past few years than it had been at an earlier period. By many 
it is rejected as principally or wholly conjectural. Some go so 
far as to assert that “ there is not a particle of evidence for 
it.” But there are a considerable, and a rapidly increasing, 
number of persons who may be justly regarded as leaders in 
science and religion who, in some form or other, hold to the 
theory of an “ unseen universe ” which is near at hand and is 
inhabited by spiritual beings. And, as is the case when innova¬ 
tions are made in other lines of investigation, they have many 
followers from the ranks of those who, though earnest and 
thoughtful, find their duties so many and so onerous that in 
matters of this kind they are obliged largely to accept the opin¬ 
ions of others rather than attempt to solve the great problems 
themselves. 

It is admitted by its advocates that the theory presents real 
difficulties. But it is neither wise nor reasonable to reject the 
idea simply because we do not see how it can be 

T 1 j . Not impossible 

true. He has studied to very little purpose who has because mcuit 
not learned that the natural, or as it is often termed °“ n ersa "' 
the material, universe presents many phenomena which are 
nothing less than marvelous. Every human being is constantly 
in the presence of mysteries which no finite mind can fathom. 

As an example, let us once more refer to what is called the 
force of gravitation. This acts through what appears to be a 
vacuum, but it also acts, with an equal degree, of Wonderfulphem . 
efficiency, through obstructions of every known kind menu in the 

J ° . .. ,. . natural world. 

and extent. To this force “ all media are, as it were, 
absolutely transparent, nay, non-existent; and two particles at 
opposite points of the earth affect each other exactly as if the 
globe were not between. The action is, so far as we can 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


372 

observe, instantaneous, so that every particle of the universe is 
at every moment in separate cognizance, as it were, of the rela¬ 
tive position of every other particle of the universe at the same 
moment of time .” 1 Surely these are as “ incomprehensible 
conditions ” as are required to sustain the theory of a spiritual 
universe within and around the one with which we are familiar. 
Yet we have the most abundant and conclusive evidence that 
there is such a force as gravitation, and that it acts in the won¬ 
derful manner which has been described. 

A still more marvelous condition is observed when the facts 
regarding what is termed space are explained. Instead of being 
empty, or at most containing merely the atmosphere, space is 
filled with something that is “ immensely more solid and elastic 
than steel.” This luminiferous ether, as it is called, is every¬ 
where in space, and penetrates almost every known substance. 
It cannot be seen, and it apparently offers no resistance to the 
multitudes of worlds which are passing through it at an enor¬ 
mously high velocity, yet the leading scientists of the world 
affirm that it is as solid as adamant, and exerts a pressure of 
about seventeen billion pounds per square inch. “ All our 
ordinary notions must be laid aside in contemplating such an 
hypothesis; yet it is no more than the observed phenomena of 
light and heat force us to accept. ’ 2 

There is also a mighty, yet silent and invisible force, which 
acts upon the minds and hearts of men, and which often appears 
in the spiritual to be closely bordering upon the miraculous in its 
reaim. effects. Probably the majority of the people of 

Christian lands who have reached mature years have seen 
remarkable instances of its operations. As an illustration let us 
take the case of a man who has reached middle life without 
becoming interested in religion. He knows but very little 
about the Bible, and his appreciation of it is as slight as is his 
knowledge. His life is given to the advancement of his own 
interests and those of his immediate friends. It is centred in 
this present world. 

The habits of thought and the ways of life of such a man are 
firmly established. There is every reason to believe that as long 
as he remains in this world he will live just as he has been 
living in the past. But some day, as he is going on in his 

1 W. Stanley Jevons, Principles of Science. 2 Ibid. 


THE LIFE BEYOND 


373 

accustomed manner, he is awakened out of his selfishness and 
worldliness. He yields to the mysterious influence which has 
stirred his soul. Henceforth he is a new man. The purpose 
of his life is changed. The God of whom in earlier years he 
had seldom thought has now become the supreme object of 
his devotion. He is animated by the same spirit as was the 
Apostle Paul when he described himself as “ a servant,” really a 
bond-servant or slave, of Jesus Christ. Selfishness, which was 
so long the controlling principle of his life, is now abhorred. 
His whole character has been revolutionized. 

In effecting this radical change of character there has been 
no outward demonstration of power. The influence, though 
sufficient to make the man break the fetters of his old habits 
and turn forever from sins in which he had persisted for many 
years, was silent and unobtrusive. And there has been no great 
modification of the general appearance of the subject of this 
transformation of character. He is known by the same name 
and continues to occupy his old home. His neighbors and 
friends still see the physical form with which they have become 
familiar, yet they realize that a new force now controls his life. 

Whether we desire to do so or not, we shall be obliged to 
admit that we are living in the presence of tremendous forces, 
which are themselves invisible, but which are re- Patle „ t inuestm- 
vealed to us through the wonderful results which tionneeded - 
are accomplished through their agency. Concerning some of 
these forces mankind is only just beginning to learn. This fact 
should make us tolerant of new theories which are put forth to 
explain the mysteries which the human mind naturally and 
earnestly desires to explore. It should also make the inquirer 
patient in his investigation of claims which, while apparently 
having some foundation in fact, yet make large drafts upon faith. 

The idea that space is “ the highway of worlds ” is not more 
difficult to entertain than were various earlier conjectures con¬ 
cerning the system to which the earth belongs, which scientists 
have been compelled by an imposing array of facts to accept as 
true. Even the theory that there may be worlds “pervading 
each other unseen and unknown in the same space can hardly 
be considered more stupendous than are various other theories, 
for the establishment of which a reasonable degree of proof has 
been secured. 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


Not far away. 


374 

There seems to be ground for believing that the illimitable 
space which has been so long regarded as unoccupied is peopled 
with worlds which we do not see, and which are 
worlds w space. con t ro u e( j by forces regarding which we have little 
or no information. Certainly it is not impossible that in this 
vast domain are the homes of spiritual beings, perhaps of many 
classes of such beings, who live under altogether different con¬ 
ditions from those of earth. It does not seem unreasonable to 
suppose that among these spiritual existences are the souls of 
those members of the human race who have lived and died in 
this world. Neither does it appear improbable that when we 
depart from the frail tenements in which our spirits dwell during 
their stay upon earth, we, too, shall pass into some part of this 
now invisible realm. 

It is a pleasing thought, and one which we believe to be 
based upon reasonable grounds, that the souls of those who 
leave this world find their new homes in a locality 
that is not far from the earth upon which their life 
began. This seems much more natural than does the theory 
that the souls of the good rise with the rapidity of lightning to 
an abode of the blest, which is at an inconceivable distance 
from this world, and that with equal swiftness the souls of the 
wicked pass to a region of despair. Not only is this view more 
probable when tested by reason and science, but it appears to 
be in harmony with the statements and intimations of Scripture 
which have reference to the place of the dead during the period 
which immediately follows the separation of body and soul. 

There appears to have been, in all ages, a quite widely ac¬ 
cepted belief that the souls of the departed do not at once go to 
a prevalent any very distant realm. Whatever might be their 
opinion. final destination, these souls were, by many people, 

supposed to find a place of abode that was not widely separated 
from the world from which they disappeared at death. We have 
seen, in previous chapters, that various early races, and unculti¬ 
vated peoples of later times, have believed that for a while after 
death the soul hovered near the place in which the body had 
been laid. And to some extent this opinion also prevailed among 
the more scholarly nations of ancient times. Christianity teaches 
the continuance of life, but rejects the idea of such a meagre and 
dreary existence as some of the earlier religions and philosophies 


THE LIFE BEYOND 


375 

had pictured. It affirms the fact that death does not take man 
away from the care of God, though it does not attempt to fix 
with any degree of precision the location of the home of the 
departed soul. 

As has been stated, there are many who hold that at death the 
soul immediately passes to its final abode. Some large religious 
denominations accept this view, and many able theo- A desire of the 
logians teach it as a very strong probability, if not a & icted - 
as a clearly revealed truth. Of those who adopt this theory it is 
probable that the great majority believe that the good go to a 
very different place from that to which the wicked are assigned. 
These realms are supposed to be distant from each other, as well 
as far from this world. When the mind and heart are not spe¬ 
cially moved, this view does not present very great difficulties. 
But in the time of deep affliction the sense of this vast interven¬ 
ing space between the living and the dead is an additional cause 
of grief. At such times the afflicted, and those who attempt to 
minister consolation, are not satisfied with the thought that the 
departed have passed to an inconceivably distant home. They 
would like to believe that it is only a short distance from the 
home here to the abode beyond. Not infrequently their words 
show that there is not only this longing to have the departed 
near them, but that there is also a vague hope, if not a faint 
belief, that the spirit world is very near to the world of sense. 

It is not at all uncommon for preachers, and for writers for 
religious periodicals, to represent death as merely the passing of 
the soul from one apartment of our Father’s house to common repre- 
another. We may imagine this dwelling to be so sentations - 
large as to contain homes at vast distances from each other, but 
this would take from the illustration a great deal of the comfort 
which it would give if its natural meaning were not greatly ex¬ 
panded. As we do not like to think of God as far removed from 
earth, so we have an instinctive desire that He will not separate 
us, by any vast distance, from those of our loved ones who pre¬ 
cede us to the spirit realm. And it is not at all impossible that 
Mrs. Stowe expressed a “ literal and scientific truth” in respect to 
this abode, in the lines : — 

“It lies around us like a cloud — 

A world we do not see; 

Yet, the mere closing of an eye 
May bring us there to be.” 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


376 

Bishop Simpson also believed that the homes of the living and 
those of their deceased relatives and friends were not widely 
separated. He thought of the departed as living “just beyond 
the line of the invisible. . . . The associates of our lives, that 
walked along life’s pathway, those with whom we took sweet 
counsel, and who dropped by our side, where are they but just 
beyond us, not far away — it may be very near us, in the heaven 
of light and love.” 

Many other prominent writers might be quoted in support of 
the opinion that the spiritual universe is not far from the one 
Must appeal to with which our senses have made us familiar. In 
the scriptures. addition to what has already been said, numerous 
arguments might be advanced to prove that this theory is sound. 
But in treating questions of this nature we must not only con¬ 
sider what would be pleasing to ourselves, what is naturally to be 
expected under the circumstances, and what light science can 
throw upon them; but we must also find what information, if 
any, the Scriptures can supply. And, whether it coincides with 
our desires and our opinions or not, whatever the Bible directly 
states, or clearly implies, must be regarded as decisive. 

It has often been asserted that the Scriptures give us nothing 
that can properly be called knowledge regarding the place of the 
dead. And it has been claimed by some that as neither pro¬ 
phet, priest, nor apostle, nor even the Saviour Himself, gave the 
information, it follows that God did not design to have us learn 
the locality of the future home. But this conclusion must be 
regarded as erroneous. For the same objection to study and 
investigation can be offered with an equal degree of force in 
respect to many matters which are essential to the well-being of 
mankind. A man who should rest contented with what was 
clearly revealed, and should refuse to seek explanations of the 
more obscure portions of the Scriptures, might be a Christian, 
but he would be an ignorant one. He might “grow in grace,” 
but his deficiency in knowledge would leave him very poorly 
equipped for the service of God. It is no less a duty than it is 
a privilege to seek light upon the Bible from every available 
source. 

As has been stated regarding the reticence of Christ as to 
other matters pertaining to the future life, the great purpose for 
which He came into the world was to teach men to so live here 


THE LIFE BEYOND 377 

that they would be happy hereafter. For all who were faithful 
to Him there was to be a home. Just where it was Why Christ was 
He did not say. But He assured them that it reticent 
should be ready for them, and that they would be welcomed to 
it at death. 

There was another reason, and possibly it was the principal 
one, why Christ did not tell His disciples the situation of the 
realm which they would enter at death. This grew out of their 
ignorance of the natural world. With the narrow views of the 
universe which were held by even the most learned of that time, 
it would have been impossible, humanly speaking, to have im¬ 
parted clear ideas of any locality that was not under the imme¬ 
diate observation of His hearers. They knew but little concern¬ 
ing the visible universe, and a considerable part of what they 
thought they knew has been proved to be incorrect. Mankind 
had not then learned “ the alphabet of nature.” Consequently, 
they were in no condition to receive instruction concerning its 
higher principles. Then, too, the time which Christ was to spend 
upon earth with His disciples was limited to a very few brief 
years. There was no opportunity to do more than to explain 
and enforce the principles of the spiritual kingdom which He 
had come to set up in the hearts of men. 

The ignorance which in the time of Christ made it useless to 
attempt to impart information regarding the locality of the home 
to which the souls of men are admitted at death also T he later books 
prevailed, and presented similar difficulties, when the ofthe Bible ‘ 
later books of the Bible were written. Besides, it was not a part 
of the work of the authors of those books to teach the principles 
of science, or to explain the phenomena of the natural world. 
They were to be followed by men who would discover and ex¬ 
plain the laws which govern matter and mind, and who would 
make plain many things which then were enveloped in mystery. 
But they themselves were called to be religious guides and 
spiritual teachers. Their work must of necessity be along dif¬ 
ferent lines from those which are followed by secular educators. 

While the Scriptures have but little to say directly as to the 
whereabouts of the present abiding-place of the de- lntlmatlonlthat 
parted, they do not leave us without strong intima- the home of souls 
tions that it is not far away from the earth. They 
contain narratives and statements which, though not introduced 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


378 

for this special purpose, appear to justify this interpretation. 
Though indirect, their evidence is both interesting and im- 
portant. 

In the Old Testament we are told of a king of Syria who 
made war against Israel, and whose expedition did not prosper 
because the king against whom it was directed was informed in 
advance concerning its movements. Finding that the Prophet 
Elisha had given the information, and learning where he could 
be found, the Syrian king resolved to dispatch a force to Dothan 
to make him a prisoner. From this point the narrative proceeds 
as follows: “ Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and 
a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city 
about. And when the servant of the man of God was risen 
early, and gone forth, behold, an host with horses and chariots 
was round about the city. And his servant said unto him, Alas, 
my master! how shall we do ? And he answered, Fear not: for 
they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And 
Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray Thee, open his eyes, that 
he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; 
and he saw; and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and 
chariots of fire round about Elisha.” 1 

Probably it seemed, at first, to the young man for whose en¬ 
lightenment the prophet prayed, that there had been an instant 
a quickening of anc ^ a most remarkable change in the conditions un- 
s pi ritual per cep- der which he was placed. But he would have been 
easily convinced that both the material world and 
the invisible realm remained the same as they hitherto had been. 
Whatever he saw after his eyes were opened was there before 
the range of his spiritual vision was enlarged. And it may be 
that all around us there is existence and action of which we are 
not conscious now, but which we shall behold as soon as we 
escape the limitations of the physical frame. The home of the 
souls which have gone from earth may be so close at hand that 
those who are living upon a high spiritual plane need only a 
little fuller development of their powders to bring them into a 
clear consciousness of its nearness. And it is neither impossi¬ 
ble nor improbable that other beings, in countless numbers, also 
abide in this domain. In this connection the following lines by 
Lord Lytton are at least suggestive: — 

1 2 Kings vi. 14-18. 


THE LIFE BEYOND 


379 


“ And ever near us, though unseen, 

The dear immortal spirits tread; 

For all the boundless Universe 
Is life — there are no dead.” 

In the New Testament an incident is related which favors the 
supposition that the home of various classes of spiritual beings, 
including the souls of men who have passed through An appearance of 
the experience of death, is not far from the globe departed 8aints - 
upon which we live. Thus, we read that at the crucifixion of 
Christ some of the saints “ that had fallen asleep ” really en¬ 
tered Jerusalem, “ and appeared unto many.” The most rea¬ 
sonable explanation of this incident is that some of the living 
believers in Christ were the subjects of a great and sudden in¬ 
crease in their power of spiritual perception which enabled them 
to look into what had been to themselves, and still remained to 
others, the invisible world. 

As will be explained in a succeeding chapter, the fact that the 
departed saints appeared in a bodily form does not compel us to 
believe, even if they actually passed along the streets, that the 
bodies which had been placed in the tomb were again brought 
into use. We do not question the facts that these saints were 
seen, and that their forms were so slightly changed as to be easily 
recognized by men who had known them before they died. But 
the statement that they “ appeared unto many ” strongly sup¬ 
ports the theory that they were seen in their own home in the 
spiritual world. The observers were upon earth. The observed 
were probably in a home of souls that lies just beyond the range 
of our mortal vision. 

If the departed had really appeared in their natural bodies, 
and walked the streets of Jerusalem, they would not have simply 
“ appeared unto many,” but would have been seen by the great 
mass of the inhabitants of the city. Such an appearance would 
have created intense excitement. All who could have done so 
would have rushed forth to witness the amazing spectacle. As 
this did not occur, we must believe, in want of evidence to the 
contrary, that the change which was noted was in the mental 
and spiritual state of the living, and not in the condition of those 
who had died. It seemed real to those who made the report, 
and, with the exception of the locality, it was real so far as what 
was said to have been seen was concerned. Those who did not 
see the saints who were said to have departed and returned, 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


380 

remained in their normal condition. Those who did see them 
probably had their spiritual perceptions so quickened that they 
“ looked in upon the immortal world.” 1 

It is also probable that this enlargement of the sphere of the 
spiritual vision, or an awakening of power which up to this 
visions of m time had lain dormant, was what occurred when the 
Apostles. Apostle Paul saw the glories of Paradise and the 

Apostle John beheld the magnificence of the New Jerusalem. 

Numerous quotations from the Bible might be made which, 
though not asserting it as a fact, give support to the claim that 
other indications “ we dwell among invisible but eternal verities,— 
from the Bible. personalities and substances.” If this claim is true, 
we surely have reason to believe that among these personalities, 
which are to us invisible, are our friends who have died. They 
are in another realm, and in another state of being than our own, 
but they are in conscious life, and their home is not far from the 
scene of our present conflict and toil. 

Although we have not been able to determine the locality of 
the home of departed souls, we have found abundant evidence 
A certain place of that it is a real place. Whether it is, as we believe, 
abode. not £ ar f rom earth, or is, as many assert, at an incon¬ 

ceivable distance from this world, is an intensely interesting 
though not a vital question. It does not affect the life of the 
soul. That goes on, unimpeded by death. 

We believe that when Christ expired upon the cross He went 
to the place of departed spirits. To those who trust Him it is 
An inspiring a cheering thought that “ whithersoever the soul 

benef. goes, thither the Lord has been.” And not only has 

the Saviour been to the abode of souls, but many of our loved 
ones are now within its domain. This should encourage and 
strengthen us as we contemplate the time when we too shall lay 
aside the garment of flesh which we have worn in this world, 
and follow those who have already passed behind the veil. 
When they were parted from us we committed them to God. 
To Him we must also commit our own souls when the time of 
our departure shall come. But we have no reason either to 
doubt or fear. His promises are many and they never fail. He 
watches over those whom we call dead as truly as He does over 
those who have not died. There is both truth and comfort in 
1 L. T. Townsend, D. D., Credo . 


THE LIFE BEYOND 381 

the following beautiful lines regarding His care of our loved 
ones who have passed away: — 

“ More home-like seems the vast unknown, 

Since they have entered there ; 

To follow them were not so hard, 

Wherever they may fare; 

They cannot be where God is not, 

On any sea or shore ; 

Whate’er betides, Thy love abides, 

Our God, for evermore.” 1 

The fact must not be overlooked that thus far we have insisted 
upon the possibility, and admitted the probability, that the soul 
does not go directly to its final home when it leaves F rom death to the 
the body. There are various reasons, some of which resunection - 
have been stated, for believing that at death spirits “do not 
enter at once upon their ultimate mode of existence, or final 
destiny.” It seems to be more fully in accordance with both 
reason and revelation to suppose that they pass into a realm 
that is near at hand, and in which they remain until the resur¬ 
rection and judgment. 

During the period thus bounded the soul may not be destitute 
of form and organization, but the man will not be complete until 
the spirit is united to the body which it is to occupy through all 
the future of its existence. But whether it goes to an inter¬ 
mediate realm, or to the place of its eternal abode, its faculties 
will be unimpaired and abundant opportunities for the exercise 
and development of its powers will undoubtedly be provided. 
Wherever the place may be, it is under the dominion of God. It 
is a part of our Heavenly Father’s house, and there His children 
will be content to dwell. In later chapters the location of the 
abodes of men after the judgment, and the final determination 
of destiny, will be incidentally considered. 

1 John White Chadwick, D. D., Auld Lang Syne. 


CHAPTER XXIV 


ENTERING THE NEW ABODE 

In the preceding pages we have presented what seems to be 
satisfactory evidence that when the soul is separated from the 
body its conscious life goes on, though the scene of 
An actual place. existence is transferred from this world to another 
realm. The new home of the soul, though to us invisible, is 
none the less real to its occupants than was the world from 
which they departed when they died. We are confident, too, 
that the realm which they have entered is fully adapted to meet 
the wants, and amply furnished to supply the needs, of each and 
all of its inhabitants. 

Those who have reached the new abode have found that it is 
not an isolated place, but is one of the many closely connected, 
and perhaps interlacing, parts of the illimitable do- 
Ampie provisions. m i n j on Q £ Anc1 those who still remain upon 

the earth need not fear that at death they shall be turned adrift 
in fathomless space, with no place of destination in view. As 
was the case with our predecessors, so it will, in these respects, 
be with ourselves. When we are called from earth a place will 
be in readiness for us> and we shall reach it without the slightest 
difficulty or danger. During our journey to the new abode we 
shall be under the same watchful care that is over us here and 
now. And when we enter the new home, we shall find that it 
has been amply furnished with whatever we shall need in the 
new conditions under which life will then go on. 

The prospect which is thus opened to our view cannot fail to 
give us both courage and comfort as the time when we must 
cross the dividing line between the seen and the 

More light desired. i i i T i i 

unseen worlds draws near. It does not, however, 
bring within the range of our vision all the details regarding 
which we would be glad to secure some definite information. 
In this world, when we start on a trip for business or pleasure 
we not only think of the character of the place to which we 


THE LIFE BEYOND 


3^3 

are going, and the conditions of life which prevail therein, but we 
also consider the circumstances of the journey and the probable 
nature of the reception which awaits us at its end. It is natural 
and proper that we should do this. Much more should thought 
be given to the particulars of the journey which every human 
being is to take to the unseen world, and to the manner in 
which the traveler is to be received into what to him will be a 
new place of abode. 

It is not mere curiosity which prompts us to wonder by what 
means the change of location will be effected; or whether the 
journey must be made alone; or how long a period, if any, will 
elapse between the latest recollection of earth and the first 
clear apprehension of the fact that the world has been left 
behind ; or who will receive the new-comer, and what will be the 
method of his introduction to the home into which he will be 
ushered by death. Such topics as these are legitimate subjects 
of investigation. The man who never gives them a thought, or 
who regards them as of too little importance to deserve con¬ 
sideration, must be deeply engrossed in the things of the present 
world, or else he is living in a religious sphere that is much 
smaller than the one which it is his privilege to occupy. 

We are obliged to admit that definite knowledge regarding 
the circumstances which attend the entrance of the soul into the 
unseen realm is limited. Its sources are few, and Know i edge 
thus far the results of investigation have not been limited ‘ 
as full and decisive as have been desired by all, and expected by 
many who have been earnest and active in the search for infor¬ 
mation. But in recent years great advances have been made 
both in the apprehension of truth as revealed or intimated by 
the Scriptures, and in ascertaining and verifying certain princi¬ 
ples of psychology which apply to the condition of the soul after 
it departs from its earthly home. Some points which formerly 
were in doubt have been settled, and others which were thought 
to be barely possible have come to be regarded as so nearly 
demonstrated as hardly to need to be qualified as probable. 

So, while we do not have as much, or as direct, information 
as we desire, we are not left wholly in the dark as to what 
occurs when the soul makes its journey to the realm NotW houyin 
which either lies beyond the world with which life thedark - 
in the body has been associated, or which, if near at hand, 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


384 

remains invisible until death lifts the veil which hides it from 
our eyes. There are analogies in the natural world which have 
a certain degree of value. Reason, too, finds a good deal of 
light upon this subject in contemplating the character of God, 
and in considering the methods by which many of His designs 
are known to be carried out. The experiences of the dying, as 
they linger for a moment on the dividing line of the two worlds, 
are not infrequently made known to those who are in attendance, 
and in many of these instances they have seemed to both explain 
the present and describe the immediate future of the departing 
soul. From the Scriptures, also, we obtain quite a good deal 
of light regarding the condition of the soul as it makes the 
exchange of worlds. 

To a considerable extent this is an indirect method of secur¬ 
ing the knowledge that is desired. This fact increases the liabil¬ 
ity of error which is inseparable from all human investigation. 
Yet, where direct evidence is meagre, this source of information 
is not to be ignored or despised. A great deal of our know¬ 
ledge of the natural world is secured by this means. We reason 
from what we see and know to what our judgment assures 
us must result from the conditions and tendencies regarding 
which we have obtained certain information. 

Scientists have long carried on their investigations in this 
manner, and the results which they have obtained have fully 
justified the method which they have employed. We cannot 
doubt that God desires that men shall use their mental powers 
in endeavoring to learn about the spiritual world as well as in 
obtaining knowledge of the things which pertain to the visible 
universe. Neither can we doubt that to the reverent student 
who is investigating matters pertaining to the spiritual realm 
He will grant wisdom as freely as He has given it in the past, 
and still continues to give it to those who seek to learn of Him 
and of His ways through the medium of His works in the 
natural world. Therefore, if we keep in mind the fact that we 
cannot state all of our conclusions in the language of absolute 
certainty, it will be both interesting and instructive to consider 
some of the points concerning which we have sufficient informa¬ 
tion to enable us to note what will in all probability occur as the 
soul leaves its earthly home and enters the world which, at least 
until the resurrection, is to be its place of abode. 


I 









'• $ 4 >. 






■ 








»<:.- 


MADONNA AND CHILD 














































































































































































THE LIFE BEYOND 


385 

There is reason to suppose that a great many people are 
unduly alarmed at the prospect of death, because they have a 
mistaken idea of the nature of the change which it T he nature of the 
produces. That it is a great change, no one who change - 
has given the matter the slightest consideration can doubt. But 
we should remember that the impression that is made upon the 
mind by any change depends a great deal more upon the nature 
of the change than it does upon the extent of the modification, 
or transformation, that results therefrom. In the ordinary 
course of events we observe many changes which at the first 
view seem to be of great importance, yet which are not nearly 
as far-reaching in their effects as are others which are so much 
less marked in their outward and immediate manifestations as 
to be at the time of their occurrence almost unnoticed. 

Something of this kind may be affirmed in regard to the view 
which many people hold concerning death and the results which 
are due to its agency. From these people the facts of the com¬ 
plex nature of man and of the superiority of the spiritual ele¬ 
ment receive but little attention. The things that are seen 
make a much stronger impression upon their minds than do the 
things which are unseen. In other words, the physical nature 
rules the spiritual. The man who belongs to this class thinks 
of himself just as he appears to himself and to others. He 
understands that he is a living, moving, and intelligent being. 
But he does not seem to realize fully that it is not the body, but 
something that is within and is far superior to the body, which 
directs all of his efforts and guides him whenever and wherever 
he goes from any given place. It does not occur to him that he 
would still have all of this power and intelligence if he were 
separated from the body in which his real self now finds a home, 
and which he uses for the accomplishment of his purposes. So 
he seems to himself to be, so far as activity and energy are con¬ 
cerned, mainly a physical creature. The body is now so neces¬ 
sary to thought or action that he is at a loss to understand how 
he is ever going to be able to live and act intelligently without 
its assistance. 

This idea, that while the man lives upon the earth he is a 
physical rather than a spiritual being, may not be very clearly 
defined. In many cases it certainly does not amount to a set¬ 
tled conviction. But too often, so far as the thought is formu- 
25 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


386 

lated at all, it follows this line of reasoning. The man is fully 
aware that death will make a great change in his condition. He 
expects that it will transform him into a spirit. He does not 
see just how this can be accomplished, but as he knows that the 
body must perish, it is plain to him that if any part of his being 
survives it must be the spiritual rather than the material. 

Now this idea is very far from correct. Death has no power 
to change a physical being into a spiritual one. The man who 
expects to “ become a spirit ” when he dies is looking for a 
change which cannot be effected. He is a spirit now just as 
truly as he ever will be. He has a soul now just as truly as he 
has a body. It is possible that he has not developed his spirit¬ 
ual nature as fully as he has his physical frame. He may not 
think of his soul as often, or care for it as well, as he thinks and 
cares for his body. But this does not in the least modify the 
fact that the soul represents the real man. 

Death has not the slightest power to turn the body into 
spirit. It merely separates the one from the other. The effects 
of this change reach on into the vast future which awaits the 
soul, but the change itself is very simple. If the soul has been 
neglected here, it will enter the unseen world in a dwarfed con¬ 
dition. If it has been cultivated here, it will begin its course 
under the new conditions upon a higher scale than the one 
upon which it would have been obliged to commence if its 
powers had been less fully developed while it remained in the 
body. Merely the place and state of the soul are changed. 
Its character remains the same. Whatever the soul is at the 
moment of death, that it will be when it enters its new home in 
the spirit world. 

We have very strong reasons for believing that the exchange 
of worlds will not be made in a violent manner, but that it will 
A gentle transi- he easy and pleasant. It is true that in the past 
tion ‘ many have held, and that there are still those who 

accept this theory, that the change of the soul from its home on 
earth to the full glory of heaven, or the utter darkness of hell, is 
instantaneous. Some of our familiar hymns teach this doctrine 
without reserve or qualification, and a good deal of the poetry 
upon this subject which is found outside of church hymnals con¬ 
veys the same idea. The following verse, from a poem which 
in whole or in part has had a wide circulation in papers and in 


THE LIFE BEYOND 387 

poetical collections, is a good specimen of the class to which it 
belongs. 

“ O change ! O wondrous change ! 

Burst are the prison bars — 

This moment there so low, 

So agonized, and now 
Beyond the stars.” 1 

This, though somewhat startling, is a very pretty sentiment, 
but there are reasons which lead us to believe that it is not an 
accurate description of the transit of the soul at death. 

In the natural world transitions, or transformations, are usually 
gradual and gentle, and it is fully in accord with the general 
idea of “ the fitness of things ” that this should be the case. 
When such a change affects an extremely delicate, sensitive, 
and intelligent organization like the human soul, it is vastly 
more important that it should be quietly made than it is in the 
case of the lower orders of life. While we live here in the body 
we find that sudden changes are far from pleasant and that their 
effect upon the mental organization is often detrimental. For 
example, when one is sleeping soundly, a rude awakening may 
cause injurious effects which will remain for a long period. It 
is well known, too, that violent spiritual emotions, even those of 
the most exalted nature, may prove highly injurious, and that 
they sometimes overthrow the reason and leave the mind a 
wreck as long as it is connected with the brain through which, 
during this life, it must act if it acts at all. 

It is true that we cannot affirm that results of the kind just 
noted would follow a violent change at the moment of death. 
Still, it is reasonable to suppose that it would be as harmful as 
it certainly would be unpleasant. And because it would be 
alarming and injurious it is not at all probable that such a 
change will be experienced. In this great moment of death 
God does not desert His creatures. In the time of their help¬ 
lessness He will not leave them to suffer from real or imaginary 
ills, or for want of needed assistance. The man who has served 
God here will doubtless enter quietly, and with serene confi¬ 
dence, into the new conditions of his life. To those who have 
made a failure of the present life these conditions will present a 
very different aspect from what they do to those who have lived 
aright. Still, we do not think it probable that the appalling 

1 Caroline Bowles, Death of a Pauficr* 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


388 

horrors which some have asserted must attend the entrance of 
such souls into the unseen world will, at that moment, be 
realized. The time for the full manifestation of the displeasure 
of God, and of the full realization of its own deserts by the 
unrepentant soul, has not then arrived. 

Then, too, from the manner in which we came into this world 
we may infer that there will be nothing violent or alarming in 
our entrance into the unseen realm. When we entered the 
earthly life we were utterly helpless. But ample preparations 
had been made for our coming and for our care after our con¬ 
scious existence commenced. The dawn of consciousness was 
quiet and gradual. The life that was begun in weakness grad¬ 
ually gained in strength, and the period of helpless infancy soon 
passed by. 

When we enter the spiritual home it will be just as new to us 
as was the home in this world which we entered at birth. We 
shall carry with us whatever knowledge we have acquired here, 
and shall doubtless be able to glide quickly and naturally into 
the new state of being. Yet, at the first, we shall be compara¬ 
tively helpless. This should not cause us the slightest alarm or 
distress. We may be sure that the God who so ordered events 
that whatever was necessary for our comfort and well-being 
when we came into this world was promptly supplied will amply 
provide for our needs as the conditions of life are changed and 
we become inhabitants of the world which, though clearly per¬ 
ceived by the eye of faith, lies beyond the range of our earthly 
vision. 

It has been a very prevalent idea that, so far as our human 
relationships are concerned, we die entirely alone. A good deal 
not a lonely of rather depressing poetry, and perhaps a still larger 
journey. quantity of equally disheartening prose, has been 

written to assure us that no relative or friend can bear us com¬ 
pany through the river of death. To all the other unpleasant 
features of departure from the world the writers of this class of 
literature add the absolute separation of the soul from every 
human being. 

If we look only upon the surface, this view appears to accord 
with the facts which are plain to every observer of what occurs 
at death. We watch over our dying ones with anxious care, and 
do all that it is possible for us to do to minister to their comfort. 


THE LIFE BEYOND 


389 

But as the current of their life ebbs away we come to a point 
beyond which we cannot proceed. They silently glide away 
from us into the realm regarding which our physical senses can 
give us no information. We cannot keep them with us; we are 
equally unable to go with them. How long they are conscious 
of our presence we cannot tell. Whether their powers of spir¬ 
itual perception are so elevated that, up to the very instant of 
departure, they know that we are near them, we are not able to 
determine. But it is not impossible that they are fully conscious 
of all that occurs around them until the spirit is fully set free 
from the body and commences the journey to its future home. 

Thus far the theory that the soul enters the new state of being 
alone is sustained. Those whom we call the living do not go 
to the end of the journey with those who die. If the departing 
soul has faith in God, and has lived in accordance with the truth 
which has been revealed to it, or even if in the last instant of its 
earthly existence it makes a decisive choice of the right, we are 
assured that it will be cheered and strengthened by One who 
has passed through this experience of death, but who has been 
victorious in the conflict, and is “ alive for evermore.” This is 
infinitely more sustaining and comforting to the departing spirit 
than any, or all, earthly companionship could be. And yet it is 
only natural that the dying should long for some relative or 
friend who had been dear to him in this world to accompany 
him as he enters the spirit land. 

The fact that friends from earth do not go with those who 
die has led to the conclusion that, so far as humanity is con¬ 
cerned, they go away from us alone. But we are not shut up to 
this conclusion. If we look deeper into the subject we shall see 
that there are facts which justify a very different opinion. 

We need to keep in mind the fact that our departed friends 
are still human beings. They have not become angels. They 
have not been transformed into any other order of intelligences. 
They are, and will continue to be, the same persons that they 
were while they were with us here. Doubtless they are chan¬ 
ging even as we change while we are in the body. Stagnation 
would mean both a lack of progress and a certainty of decay. 
But the change that the soul experiences is not an alteration of 
its nature. Whatever was human here will be human as long 
as it continues in existence. 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


39 ° 

Another fact of which we must not lose sight is that God is 
always good to His children and that He is constantly interested 
in their welfare. To our feeble sight this does not always ap¬ 
pear to be true. Sometimes God seems to forget His children, 
but this is because the range of our vision is limited. If we 
could see, as He does, what is to be the outcome of the disci¬ 
pline through which we are called to pass we should have 
neither fear nor regret. He is our Father, and when we “ walk 
through the valley of the shadow of death ” He will care for us 
with all the tenderness that our needs require. 

As our friends in the other world retain their consciousness 
and their personal identity, and as the loving care of God is 
Friends or, the over every soul of man, it is not impossible that the 
other side. natural longing for human companionship in the 

time of death may be granted. Some of the American Indians 
have a belief that when a soul leaves the body “ it is met with 
great rejoicing by the others who died previously.” And among 
many peoples, and in many and in widely separated times and 
regions, an idea that in their journey from this world the dying 
are attended by inhabitants from the realm to which they are on 
their way has extensively prevailed. 

In comparatively recent times a belief that the dying are 
watched over by their deceased relatives or friends, who minis¬ 
ter to their needs and act as their guides to the new home, has 
been accepted by a large number of the people of civilized lands. 
Spiritualists are very pronounced in this view, and it is firmly 
held by individual members of many denominations of Chris¬ 
tians. The doctrine, however, is neither distinctively Spiritual¬ 
istic nor Christian. While it is held by large numbers of 
people who could not be classed with either of these bodies, it is 
rejected by many Christians. Doubtless many who have re¬ 
jected it, without investigation, have done so largely because it 
seemed to be a product of Spiritualism. This course, even for 
the most devout Christian, is neither necessary nor wise. The 
particular theory in question can be accepted without indorsing 
any of the other views of the life and condition of the departed 
soul which are set forth by Spiritualists. Besides, any theory 
that has the appearance of truth is worthy of consideration, 
even if it is held by people with whose principal religious doc¬ 
trines we cannot agree. And this theory is reasonable. It is in 


THE LIFE BEYOND 


391 

accordance with our natural instincts. It appeals to reason as 
well as to desire. And, as far as we can see, it does not antago¬ 
nize the Scriptures in the least. 

Not only does it seem desirable and natural that such should 
be the case, but there have been a great number of instances in 
which the appearance, or the words, of the dying have justified, 
or even compelled, a belief that the spirits of dear ones who, 
perhaps long before, had departed to the unseen realm, were 
with them in the moment of death. It is certain that as they 
have drawn very near the close of the earthly life many of these 
persons have been vividly conscious of some presence which was 
not apparent to any one but themselves. Often this has been 
interpreted as a sign that Christ was revealing Himself to a 
faithful disciple. But in many cases this manifestation, inex¬ 
pressibly blessed and comforting as it must be, was not all of 
which the dying one was aware. To some the light of peace 
and joy has come after the earthly sense of sight has failed but 
before the power of speech has been lost, and they have clearly 
stated their belief that some relative or friend from the other 
side of the line which separates the seen from the unseen was 
hovering near. A great number of instances have been known 
in which the dying person, at the instant of departure, has pro¬ 
nounced the name, and has seemed either to see or feel the pre¬ 
sence, of a dear one who had died long before. It certainly is 
possible, we believe it to be probable, that “ the affections, which 
alone of earthly things can survive dissolution will, like mag¬ 
nets, draw the beloved and loving spirits of the dead around the 
dying.” Thus, “ in dying we may meet, and meet at once , before 
we have had a moment to feel the loneliness of death,” the souls 
of the departed whom we have loved on earth . 1 

Just how the journey to the new realm will be made we are 
unable to tell. Whether, when it is set free from the body, the 
soul will have powers of its own which will enable it The home soon 
to pass through space without assistance is a pro- reached ‘ 
blem for which we have no means of solution. Some have 
believed that this will be the case. Others think that the spirits 
of departed friends are with the dying to render assistance as 
well as comfort. One of our popular hymns teaches that the 
departing soul is to be “ borne on angels’ wings,” and there are 

1 Frances Power Cobbe, The Peak in Darien . 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


392 

various other views which have found favor with some who do 
not accept either of those which have been stated. But, what¬ 
ever the mode may be, we can rest assured that it will not be 
unpleasant. In all probability the journey will neither be dreary 
nor long. 

There are good reasons for supposing that we shall enter the 
new life without reluctance. It is a law of nature that transi¬ 
tions from a lower to a higher plane are without pain. And to 
the good man death is in the nature of an uplift. It is in the 
line of progress. Indeed, when the body becomes very old there 
can be no progress without its intervention. The change which 
it causes is for the betterment of the soul. Probably this is 
apparent at the instant of death. It will certainly be appre¬ 
hended as the other world is reached. 

From the nature of the case it is certain that a great many 
persons will be surprised as the character and conditions of the 
surprise, but not new life are made known to them. One of these 
aiarm. surprises will relate to the soul itself and will be met 

at the very threshold of the unseen home. In the experience of 
death the soul will gain new, and in many cases entirely unex¬ 
pected, knowledge of its character. To some this will be a 
source of joy. It will show them that the spiritual conflicts in 
which they engaged while upon earth have not all been lost. 
In other cases it will remove the veil of almost unconscious 
deception which has hidden the soul from itself while it re¬ 
mained in the body. And there are not a few whom it will 
awake from an indifference which for many years has prevented 
the soul from attending to its most pressing needs. Probably 
to every one there comes, at this great moment in his history, 
a degree of spiritual enlightenment which it never before had 
received. But in the cases of all who have really endeavored to 
serve God, even though they may have followed “ afar off ” and 
“ made many crooked paths,” it is probable that, mingled with 
the surprise which a review of their lives that is instant and yet 
minute must evoke, there will be a great moral advance. 

Then, too, a great many persons will be surprised at the loca¬ 
tion of the new home, the way in which life goes on, and the 
general condition of the inhabitants of the spiritual realm. The 
views which are now accepted are so widely diverse that all can¬ 
not be true. Not that dissimilarity is impossible or improbable. 


THE LIFE BEYOND 


393 

It is as certain as anything can be. But it will not be carried 
to the extent of admitting anything that is detrimental to a far 
higher spiritual existence than that of earth. 

As it is not to be supposed that we are all going to be made 
over at death, and conformed to a single pattern, something of 
the same diversity which we here observe will be seen in the 
world beyond. Though we cannot speak with certainty as to 
details, we know that God has infinite resources and that He 
will provide whatever is required to make His faithful children 
happy. And, while tastes will differ widely, such arrangements 
will be made, at least among the good, that what promotes the 
happiness of one will not interfere with the pleasure of another. 

Upon this matter of enjoyment in the future life we shall 
have more to say when we consider the probable condition of 
the soul in the home which it is to occupy after it has been 
united to the body at the resurrection, and the results of a judi¬ 
cial inquiry concerning its deserts has been declared. We be¬ 
lieve that after the judgment the soul may find another home 
than the one which it had previously occupied, and that the 
conditions of life will be greatly changed. 

Whatever the method of our transference from this world to 
the other may be, and whoever may accompany the soul in its 
transit, we are justified in believing that as we enter 0ur friends wm 
the new home we shall be greeted by relatives and v reetua - 
friends who have preceded us there. We shall not go into the 
new home as strangers and be obliged to become acquainted 
with the inmates before we find friends. We shall need com¬ 
panionship, and probably advice and assistance. In this world 
means are used for the accomplishment of purposes. Doubtless 
the same law will prevail hereafter. And it is perfectly natural 
to suppose that friends who aided us here will, if they precede 
us to the spirit world, be our helpers there. “ It is more than 
probable that the departed, upon their entrance into the future 
life, will meet those who will be guides and supports, will be all 
that earthly mothers have been ; and to many the same mother, 
gone before, will once more be present to take them by the 
hand and direct them forward in the new life .” 1 

Perhaps the idea that as they reach the confines of the new 
abode souls will be met by loved ones who have gone before, 

1 Dr. J. R. Nicbols, Whence, What, Where ? 


25* 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


394 

was never more beautifully expressed than in the following lines 
which form the closing verse of a poem written many years 
ago by Mr. R. Huie, on the death of his young son: — 

“ My little one, my fair one, thou canst not come to me, 

But nearer draws the numbered hour when I shall go to thee; 

And thou, perchance, with seraph smile, and golden harp in hand, 

Mayst come the first to welcome me to our Emmanuel’s land.” 

While there will be much to cheer the soul as it goes into its 
new home, it is not probable that vast revelations will be made to 
Knowledge win be it at the first. The full glories of the new world will 
progressive. no t k urS |- a j- once U p 0n the spiritual vision. Much 
will be made known, but far more will be held in reserve. 
There, as here, knowledge will be progressive. At the first we 
shall “ know in part,” but we shall find many things which we 
do not understand, and which will awaken our curiosity and 
attract our serious attention. There will be much to learn, and 
the field of inquiry will constantly enlarge as we make progress 
therein. But we shall be deeply interested, and, as the mind 
will probably be much more free and active than it was while it 
was connected with the physical body, it is to be expected that 
we shall learn far more rapidly than it was possible for us to do 
while we were upon the earth. 

The followers of Swedenborg have very peculiar views in 
regard to the entrance of the soul into its new home by means 
The swedenbor - of death. While we can only regard these ideas as 
gian theory. a s t ran g e mixture of truth and error, they are very 
interesting, and they certainly deserve attention in any thorough 
consideration of the great subject of the condition of the soul 
after it leaves the body. It is also true that with but slight 
modification these views are accepted by many who do not 
closely follow Swedenborg as regards other portions of his 
system of theology. 

According to the doctrines of this church, the man who has 
died “ has simply passed from one province of the universe to 
another. This transition has been effected by his removal from 
the material body. It was not a passage through space, as we 
go from one country to another. He was in the spiritual world 
while he dwelt in the material body, though unconscious of it. 
The change consisted simply in casting aside the material body, 
which is the instrumental means by which man lives in the 


THE LIFE BEYOND 


395 

material world, while it also acts as a veil to the spiritual senses, 
and prevents all consciousness of the presence and influence of 
spiritual beings and spiritual objects .” 1 This new province, 
though not material, so closely resembles the earth, and the man 
himself is so little changed, either in appearance or in mental 
or spiritual condition, that it is somewhat difficult for him to 
realize at once that he has really died. 

We believe the view of Swedenborgians in regard to the 
exchange of worlds at death is fairly stated in a story or “ tale 
of the life to come,” in which the narrator treats the subject as 
a matter of personal experience. From this book we glean the 
following points : 2 At death the soul slowly, but without excite¬ 
ment or alarm, becomes unconscious. But the shadow is only 
temporary. There is a gradual awakening to conscious exist¬ 
ence. Even before sight returns there is a feeling of joy and 
peace which continues for what seems to be a long time. There 
is a sound of sweet music, and the air is filled with a delightful 
perfume. The presence of other beings is felt. Sight gradu¬ 
ally returns. At length a voice is heard, or a suggestion takes 
definite form in the mind, requesting the now rapidly reviving 
soul to put on its robes and then pass out and join those who 
have been keeping it company. Upon fully recovering his 
senses, the one who has died finds himself in a room similar to 
the one which he had occupied during his illness, with all of its 
furnishings undisturbed. He is in bodily form, and finds suit¬ 
able clothing upon a chair near the couch upon which he is 
lying. He dresses himself, passes through the house without 
finding any one, and then goes out of doors. Everything that 
he sees closely resembles the home and surroundings with which 
he was familiar while he lived upon earth, and yet he observes 
marked differences. The feeling of uneasiness caused by this 
succession of mysteries is quickly dispelled by the appearance 
of a man of noble presence, who greets him cordially, and 
informs him that the experience of death has been passed 
through, and that instead of being upon earth he has reached 
the “ vast entrance-court of the spiritual world where all come 
immediately after death.” 

Upon the subject now under consideration, Spiritualists have 

1 Rev. Chauncey Giles, in That Unknown Country. 

2 Louis Pendleton, The Wedding Garment. 


396 LIFE TRIUMPHANT 

spoken and written a great deal more than have the members 
some spiritual - of any other organization. But, as is the case with 
istic views. other bodies, the views of its members vary greatly. 
It is hardly necessary to say that with the opinions of the very 
large class of adherents to this system who reject the Bible, we 
have no sympathy whatever. We believe that many of these 
people are deluded, and that not a few are unmitigated frauds. 
But there is another class of Spiritualists who believe the Scrip¬ 
tures and who earnestly endeavor to follow their teachings. 
Though we cannot resist the conviction that upon some points 
they are in error, we believe that they are thoroughly honest in 
their opinions, and that their views are entitled to a respectful 
consideration. So far as the Scriptures are concerned, it is not, 
as it is in the case of the other class of Spiritualists, a question 
of conflict with the Bible, but one of interpretation of many of 
its statements and implications. 

The following quotations, from selections which were made 
by one of the leaders of the body which he represented, and 
which were published in a Spiritualistic book , 1 will give a good 
idea of the general tenor of the views of that type of Spiritual¬ 
ists who honor the teachings of the Scriptures, and who insist 
upon purity of life and nobility of character. 

An inquiry of the spirit of a brother who had died some time 
before, regarding the nature of death and the sensations which 
were experienced as the new life was entered, was answered as 
follows: “ The dread and fearful uncertainty which pervade the 
minds of most men about to undergo the change is what consti¬ 
tutes death. It in reality is but a passing away from the things 
of earth to a blissful abode in the blessed spirit-home, as though 
you should go to sleep some night in a desert place, and on 
awakening at morn find yourself in the most beautiful abode 
which your imagination can picture. It is an imperceptible 
breathing-forth of the spirit from the earthly body by which it is 
enwrapped. . . . When I awoke in the spirit-life, and perceived 
I had hands and feet and all that belongs to the human body, I 
cannot express to you in form of words the feelings which at 
that moment seemed to take possession of my soul. I realized 
that I had a body — a spiritual body ; and with what beautiful 
and glorious effulgence of light did I remember what Paul 

1 J. R. Francis, The Encyclopedia of Death . 


THE LIFE BEYOND 


397 

stated in his epistle: ‘ It is sown a natural body; it is raised a 
spiritual body.’ I realized at that moment, as I had never done 
before, the glorious truth of my own unfoldings.” 

From a discourse, said to have been “suggested in thought 
and language ” by the spirit of an eminent author, we quote as 
follows : “ To find one’s self floating out from the fastnesses of 
time into the immeasurable space of eternity is such a match¬ 
less experience that only those who pass through the portal of 
death can understand. . . . Coming toward me, space seemed 
to be filled with all I had hoped and prophesied; and in the 
very antechamber which I entered immediately after death I 
could see so much of eternity that it would take the mortal 
breath away, as it almost did the breath of the spirit. There 
was no low, dim twilight. There was no simple fading of exist¬ 
ence and inanition. There was no uncertainty. There was 
no bewilderment. There was no pausing, as if in sleep, upon 
the threshold of that immortal side, while tender hands would 
prepare, as they sometimes do, the immortal state. Suddenly, 
and with full power, I sprang upright, and was aware immedi¬ 
ately of being a form — a being whose intensity pervaded and 
thrilled me, until I seemed a part of the universe around. . . . 
Death gives back every blessed and good promise of life, but it 
will not relieve you from responsibilities. These are yours; you 
inherit them. They belong to you as part of the infinite plan ; 
and sooner or later, in one world or another, in one state of 
being or another, you must meet and vanquish them.” 

We quote from the author last represented because of his 
views in respect to the uplifting of the soul at the instant of 
death, and also on account of his making clear the fact, which 
too many people either do not recognize or do not believe, that 
the conditions under which men enter the new state of exist¬ 
ence will depend upon the characters which they have formed on 
earth. A man “ who is accustomed to think of a future state,” 
and who strives to live in accordance with the principles of truth 
and justice, will be more intelligent, be much stronger, and con¬ 
sequently will need less help from others, as he seeks his place 
in the realm which he enters at death, than will one who has 
confined his attention to earthly things and lived without any 
special regard to the hereafter. Sin, either of omission or com¬ 
mission, may be forgiven, and punishment may be remitted, but 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


393 

even then the consequences of good or evil doing cannot be 
wholly confined to the existence which lies on this side of the 
grave. 

It is believed that we have found sufficient evidence to justify 
the expectation that as we pass from life here to the state of 
Reasonable existence beyond, we shall be fully conscious of our 

expectations. surroundings and of the changes in our circum¬ 
stances and conditions which are then taking place. If there is, 
as some believe, a lapse into unconsciousness at the moment of 
transit, it will be very brief. Unless it be on account of moral 
unfitness to enter the spiritual world, there will be no alarm and 
no unpleasant excitement. There will be a strong feeling of 
expectation, mingled with curiosity concerning the character of 
the world which is coming into view, but this will doubtless be 
a pleasant rather than a disquieting sensation. 

The change through which men pass at death is destructive 
only to the body. The real man is not harmed. The mind does 
not suffer in the least. There is reason to believe that its pow¬ 
ers will be quickened, and that hitherto dormant faculties will 
come into active use. The spiritual nature, too, receives a 
powerful impulse. There is no loss of the idea of personality, 
no lapse of memory which will cause the man to forget who and 
where he is. Life becomes fuller and richer as the soul is set 
free from its earthly tenement. The man who has lived well 
can neither be defeated nor imperiled by death. For him, sepa¬ 
ration from the body is an infallible witness to the victorious 
progress of the soul. 

The dying do not enter the unseen world alone. Friends 
who have preceded them, angels, or other messengers of God, 
are undoubtedly at hand whenever and wherever a human being 
is passing through the change of death. The departing soul is 
aware of the presence of friendly guides, and has a full assurance 
that it will not be deserted or neglected in the time of its need. 

In the new realm there will be many things which at first the 
soul will not be able to comprehend. But that thought need 
cause no more anxiety than we are subject to here when we 
think of the multitude of things connected with our common 
affairs which we are not able to understand. As it gains in 
experience the soul will increase in knowledge, and its powers 
will be developed by the training which it will receive under 


THE LIFE BEYOND 


399 


conditions which are far more favorable to its progress than 
were those which it had while on earth. 

There are many other matters in connection with the entrance 
of the soul into the new life which might be considered, but upon 
which it does not seem desirable to dwell. We hope and be¬ 
lieve that, in some minds at least, what has been said upon this 
subject will lessen the dread of death which in the past has 
caused an undue degree of apprehension. But whether the con¬ 
clusions at which we have arrived are accepted or not, every 
child of God may rest in confidence upon the fact that when 
the soul departs from its earthly tabernacle it does not go be¬ 
yond the love and care of Him who created it, and who most 
earnestly desires its purest happiness and its highest good. 


CHAPTER XXV 


THE RECOGNITION OF FRIENDS 

Probably every man, as he has stood by the grave of a rela¬ 
tive or a friend, or has learned that one with whom he had been 
separation of connected by ties of kindred or affection has de- 
friends by death. p ar t e d this life, has asked himself, over and over 
again, whether the separation which has been made by death is 
to be continued forever. The question involves more than the 
mere continuance of existence beyond the grave. It is not sim¬ 
ply a question whether our departed friends are now alive, or 
whether we, too, shall be alive after we pass through the change 
called death, but above and beyond the matter of mere existence 
it has to do with the powers of the soul after it leaves the body 
and with the conditions of its life in the new abode. 

In previous chapters we have endeavored to show that con¬ 
scious life goes on regardless of the incident of death. If the 
conclusions we have reached are correct, our de¬ 
parted friends are now living and are fully conscious 
of their being and their surroundings. When we have crossed 
the dividing line between the seen and the unseen worlds the 
same can be said by others regarding ourselves. It is a great 
comfort for those who remain upon earth to feel that their kin¬ 
dred and friends, who have gone into the land which, though 
perhaps very near, yet lies beyond the range of our earthly vision, 
are alive, and to believe that such will be our own condition after 
we die, but we long for some assurance that there will be recog¬ 
nition and reunion of those who were dear to each other here. 

So far as the present world is concerned, the great majority of 
men believe that death effects an utter separation. When the 
important and P arent > or child, or friend is removed by death, the 
interesting q ue S - mourners have no hope of seeing the departed one 
again. They believe that the last farewells of earth 
have been said. But numerous questions regarding the carrying 
over of the affections into the world beyond will continue to 



A PORTRAIT OF CHRIST. 










THE LIFE BEYOND 


401 

come into their minds. Those who have been bereaved will 
not cease to ask whether the last word spoken here must forever 
remain the final word. We remember, with a deeper and a 
sanctified love, those who have gone. We cannot help asking 
whether death has sundered the ties of their affection and de- 
stroyed their powers of recognition. Will death, when it comes 
to ourselves, take us to a place in which we shall neither know 
those who have preceded us nor be known by them ? Will hus¬ 
bands and wives, parents and children, brothers and sisters and 
friends, the strength of whose love was measured only by the 
capacities of their natures, be separated forever, or meet only as 
strangers in the realms to which they go ? Or will there be a 
recognition of relatives and friends in the land of departed souls 
and a closer and an eternal union of the affections which hold 
so large a place in the earthly life ? 

Questions of this kind are common to all men, for all are 
mourners, and all are going to the world which has been pre¬ 
pared as a dwelling-place for souls. We have a right to ask 
them and to seek by all the legitimate means in our power to 
find their answers. Indeed, this right seems to rise to the height 
of duty. For no one who refuses to consider them can be true to 
the memory of his departed kindred and friends, or to his own 
higher nature. These questions are interwoven with all that is 
best in human life, and their consideration may be made of great 
benefit. And of all the themes connected with the future life 
there can, as one of our able writers has said, “ scarcely be one 
of more thrilling interest.” 

As the subject of the recognition of friends after death has 
been one of general interest, so the belief that there would be 
such recognition has been very common. It is not, 

V ...... 1 A common belief. 

as many have seemed to suppose, a distinctively 
Christian doctrine, though vast numbers of Christians, repre¬ 
senting many denominations, accept it, but “ it is, and has been, 
in some form the common heritage of humanity.” 1 But, while 
Christianity did not originate this hope, it has changed what was 
a desire and a longing into a practical certainty. Traces of this 
longing are found in the early history of the race. 

“ It is an old belief that on some solemn shore 
Beyond the sphere of grief dear friends will meet once more.” 

1 Bishop Randolph S. Foster, Beyond the Grave . 

26 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


402 

In the earliest history of the race we find evidence that some 
of the greatest men of their time hoped for a reunion with rela¬ 
tives after death. Among the many promises which God made 
to Abraham was the following: “ Thou shalt go to thy fathers 
in peace; ” and when he died it was said that he was “ gathered 
to his people.” In recording the death of Isaac, the sacred his¬ 
torian, with the exception of “ unto ” in place of “ to,” uses the 
same words. As Jacob was about to depart this life he called his 
sons around him, gave them his blessing, and added: “ I am to 
be gathered unto my people.” He gave directions for his burial, 
and as he ceased speaking “ yielded up the ghost and was gath¬ 
ered unto his people.” In these and similar Scripture passages 
it is evident that something of far greater significance than 
the burial of the body near the bodies of relatives was noted. 
In some cases the latter was mentioned as subordinate, but in 
others, as in those of Abraham and Moses,, it is plain that it was 
not taken into the account. Their burial-places were far re¬ 
moved from those of their ancestors. It is safe to say that in 
all cases in which terms of this kind are used in reference to 
such characters as have been named, they denote a reunion of 
spirits rather than a common place for burial. 

If we turn to other records and other races we find the same 
desire, perhaps differently expressed but no less carefully cher¬ 
ished. Some of the ancient peoples of the East are represented 
as saying that “ to re-behold our parents and our children ” was 
regarded as one of the greatest pleasures of the future life. In 
various parts of the world, people whose mental powers had been 
but slightly developed have had the idea that the acquaintances 
and friends of this world would, in the life which they pictured 
beyond the grave, continue to hold the same relationship. There 
were many peoples, too, who offered human sacrifices when one 
of their rulers, or noted characters, died. This was partly in 
order that these men to whom they had been accustomed to ren¬ 
der homage might have servants to do their bidding, as had been 
the case in this world; but even this involved the idea of the 
recognition of departed spirits. But there were many cases in 
which the wife, and people of higher rank than servants, were 
slain. In such instances the idea of companionship must have 
been prominently in mind. Among some tribes the pet dog of 
a deceased Indian was killed upon the grave of its former owner. 


THE LIFE BEYOND 


403 

Sometimes circumstances indicated that the dog was slain not so 
much for the purpose of assisting his former master in the hunt 
as in order to be company for him in the new life. People of a 
higher mental development have sent messages to friends in the 
spirit world by those who were about to commit suicide or who 
were drawing near to death by illness. 

The great scholars of Greece and Rome were not all agreed 
as to the probability of a life beyond this world, though many of 
them were believers in the doctrine that conscious life persists. 
But with whatever degree of faith they possessed in the future 
life they linked the belief that there would be a full recognition 
of those who had been their acquaintances and friends, or of 
whom they had heard and in whom they had become interested 
in this world. Sometimes the hope of meeting with the good 
and great appears to have been the principal reason for the desire 
that death should not end existence. Knowing, as they did, but 
very little of the true God, it is not strange that at times their 
faith was weak. Neither is it a matter for surprise that their 
views of the life beyond were different from those which are now 
generally entertained by people of cultivated mental powers. But 
it is worthy of note that, in common with greatly inferior peo¬ 
ples and even with savage races, among these poets and philoso¬ 
phers and wise men of the ancient world, there were many who 
lived and died in the hope, if not in the full belief, that death 
does not forever separate friends. 

Since the coming of Christ into the world, there has been a far 
stronger and a rapidly increasing belief that the separation of 
relatives and friends by death is only temporary. This is due, 
in a great measure, to the fact that His teaching, and death, and 
His subsequent appearance in a manner that made it impossible 
to doubt that He had really died and had risen from the dead, 
caused the doctrine of a future life to be widely disseminated 
and to be held with a degree of tenacity which it had never 
before exhibited. And this doctrine that man lives beyond the 
grave was presented in such a manner as to carry with it, by im¬ 
plication that was perhaps as strong as direct assertion would 
have been, the idea that those who have been acquainted on 
earth will know each other after they have passed through the 
change of death. 

The fact that the hope of a future recognition of friends has 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


Faith required. 


404 

been held by so many different people, by races who were widely 
separated as to locality, and by men of the least as well 
strong evidence. ag fjjQgg 0 f th e greatest mental development, is 

strong evidence that the hope is to be realized. In seeking for evi¬ 
dence of the existence of God, or of the immortality of the soul, it 
is common, and is proper, to lay a great deal of stress upon the 
fact that these ideas have been prevalent in all ages and among 
all peoples. So here the general and intuitive idea that friends 
will meet and know each other after death is to be accepted, not 
as proof, but as a strong probability that it is true. The uni¬ 
versal longing tells of a deep and constant want of the human 
soul, and its universality and persistence may well be regarded as 
a prophetic indication that the desire will be gratified. 

From the very nature of the case this doctrine of the recogni¬ 
tion of friends after death must rest upon faith rather than upon 
absolute proof. There is a great deal of indirect 
evidence in its favor, enough we claim to place it 
far beyond a reasonable doubt, and yet we have to admit that 
the direct and unqualified proof that would come from personal 
experience is wanting. Spiritualists, and people who belong to 
a few other organizations, believe that there are persons who 
are so endowed that they can freely converse with the souls of 
the departed and can thus learn of the character of the life 
which continues beyond this world. Some have even professed 
to be able to look into the realm which to most of their compan¬ 
ions is unseen, and to observe the condition of the people and 
things therein. But in these cases there is need of a strong 
faith in the so-called “ medium,” and in many of them there is 
danger of misapprehension on the part of both the receiver of 
the message and the one through whose agency it purports to 
come. It is well known, too, that, according to the testimony 
of a large number of the mediums themselves, fraud has often 
been practiced in a most heartless manner upon men and 
women who, in the agony of their bereavement, have endeavored 
to learn something regarding the place and condition of those 
who had been removed by death. We do not assert that the 
inhabitants of the spiritual realm have no influence whatever 
upon mankind. Of this matter we shall have more to say in 
another chapter. But we do not think that the doctrine that 
those who were friends on earth will be friends elsewhere either 


THE LIFE BEYOND 


405 

requires or can be strengthened by an appeal to what is known 
as modern Spiritualism, or to any belief of a similar character. 

Assuming for the present that we shall know each other in 
the world to which God calls us at death just as truly and clearly 
as we did while we lived on earth, there will be in How recognition 
many minds question as to the manner in which wi " be p° 8Sible - 
this will be accomplished. It is asserted that in the spiritual 
world we shall be disembodied. If that is really the case it will 
present a difficulty with which we do not have to contend in 
this world. Friends who have been for many years separated, 
and who in the mean time have changed greatly in their appear¬ 
ance, sometimes meet unexpectedly and recognize each other by 
the tones of the voice or by some peculiar yet habitual act which 
memory at once connects with a single one out of hundreds of 
acquaintances. But when these friends become inhabitants of 
the spiritual world it is said that they will be deprived of bodily 
form and will have no means of communicating with each other 
even if they most earnestly desire to do so. 

The difficulty thus suggested is not as great as it appears. 
To begin with, we do not know that the soul is wholly dis¬ 
embodied in the period between death and the resurrection. 
There are very strong reasons for supposing that this is not the 
case. The body that it has used in this world has been laid 
aside, it is true. But this does not prove that the soul must 
remain “ unclothed ” until the resurrection body is assumed. As 
will be shown farther on, it is both possible and probable that 
some form of a body, or a covering, that is adapted to the needs 
of the soul during this intermediate time and state of its exist¬ 
ence, will be supplied. 

There are other ways out of the difficulty. We do not know 
that embodiment is necessary for communication in the spiritual 
world. Here the spirit acts through and by means of the body. 
But the action is not always perfect. We not do recognize all the 
qualities of our friends. They, in turn, do not know us com¬ 
pletely. Perhaps when the body is left behind the power of the 
soul to know others, and also to know itself, will be greatly 
increased. It may be, too, that the soul is possessed of dormant 
or only partially awakened powers, and that these will come into 
active exercise when it leaves the body. There are many other 
ways in which the power of recognition can be attained. God 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


406 

is not limited as to ways or means. And as we believe that His 
Word teaches, indirectly but certainly, the doctrine of recogni¬ 
tion in the future life, we are not greatly concerned as to how 
this purpose is accomplished. 

From a recent writer upon this and kindred themes we quote 
as follows: “ It will be instinctive recognition, in which no 
mistake can be made, a sixth divine sense, perhaps, of which we 
have a faint hint in the shiver of joy or repulsion which comes 
over us upon a first introduction to strangers in this world.” 1 
This is a reasonable explanation of the way in which friends 
will know one another under conditions which must be widely 
different from those of the present life. 

Then there comes another matter concerning which every one 
who is looking forward to a meeting with departed friends 
men recognition desires information. This has reference to the time 
win occur. at w hi c h this recognition will occur. Some able men, 
particularly in early times, have thought that it would be de¬ 
layed until after the resurrection. They held that in the inter¬ 
val between the loss of the body here and its resumption at the 
last day, the soul would be without an organization and, conse¬ 
quently, would be unable to communicate with any other soul. 
This, as we have already shown, is neither necessarily nor 
probably true. The probabilities are almost wholly in the other 
direction. The idea that those who were dear to each other for 
the period of an ordinary lifetime upon the earth will pass into 
another state of existence which will continue for ages, remain 
all this while entire strangers, and then, when a new era opens, 
and the souls receive the bodies of which they had been deprived 
at death, they will renew the acquaintance and friendship of 
earth, does not appear reasonable, and is opposed to what we 
believe to be the teaching of the Scriptures. It is to be noted, 
too, that this idea of souls remaining in conscious existence, yet 
as entire strangers, for ages, and then renewing a friendship 
which had been interrupted by death, is just as unreasonable if 
we think that at death these souls go to their final state and 
place as it is if we believe that they then pass into an inter¬ 
mediate realm. It does not help the matter in the least to sup¬ 
pose that friends are in heaven if there is to be no recognition 
until the resurrection. They are just as widely and completely 

1 Beverley E. Warner, D. D., The Facts and the Faith. 


THE LIFE BEYOND 


407 

separated there as they would be in an intermediate world. In 
either case, if they cannot recognize each other they are prac¬ 
tically dead so far as friendly relations are concerned. This 
means that the powers of the soul are greatly diminished by 
death. And, if diminished in this way, they may be lessened 
along various other lines, so that, instead of being a period of 
growth and development, the vast interval which, in the case of 
countless millions of souls, must elapse between their departure 
from this world and the assuming of their resurrection bodies, 
must be one of a very limited and meagre existence. It cer- 
tainly is not reasonable to believe that God should give the soul 
such wonderful powers and such vast capacities as those with 
which He has endowed it here upon earth, allow it to develop its 
faculties for the brief period of a human life in this world, and 
then place it for ages under conditions which will prevent fur¬ 
ther progress in some, and perhaps in many, of the directions 
in which its pure and noble qualities have been greatly advanced. 
Neither is it in accordance with the great law of progress which 
seems to govern the affairs of the universe. 

Social intercourse is one of the great means of helpfulness 
and development in this world. We believe that it will be the 
same in the world to come. If we are to be there the same per¬ 
sons that we are here, which is certain to be the case if we have 
any real existence, the same means, though perhaps improved 
in method and increased in efficiency, will probably be employed 
for our education and progress. We believe that the period 
that follows death is to be one of great spiritual development 
and that the friends who loved us and helped us here will know 
us and be our teachers and our guides after the earthly condi¬ 
tions have passed away. And as it is probable that when we 
enter the new life we shall need help and encouragement as 
much as at any time of our existence in the state which we shall 
then enter, we have no doubt that friends will be waiting for our 
coming, and will greet us with all of their old-time affection, as 
we enter the world beyond. Perhaps the one who was dearest 
of all to us upon earth may come, even before we are entirely 
freed from the body which we leave at death, to guide us on the 
way. If not, we can rest assured that some being from the 
spirit world will bear us company, and that we shall not be 
lonely for a moment after we leave the tabernacle of flesh. 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


408 

We think it has been shown beyond all reasonable doubt that 
death does not affect the conscious existence of the soul. The 
conditions are greatly changed, but life goes on. 

Personal identity ? J i 1 • 1 

involves recogni- The man who lives after death is the same man as 
he was before he died. The absence of his body in 
no wise affects his identity. It no more makes another and a 
different man of him than does the changing of his clothing 
while he is in this world. What he wears has nothing whatever 
to do with his personality. So will it be in the world to come. 
Whether the soul is supplied with some bodily form as it enters 
the new conditions, or gradually assumes an organization as its 
powers are developed, or remains without a visible form until 
the resurrection, the man will not lose his identity for a single 
moment. 

Now if we remain the same persons after death that we are 
when we die we shall know the people with whom we are ac¬ 
quainted here. In this world we are what we are very largely 
on account of our intercourse with others. This is a scriptural 
doctrine as well as a principle in philosophy and a matter of 
common observation. The Bible has numerous warnings 
against going in the way of evil men. Parents and teachers 
warn the young against bad company, and a very large propor¬ 
tion of the inmates of our prisons and reformatory institutions 
can trace their entrance into wicked courses to the influence of 
evil companions. On the other hand, it is equally well known 
that intercourse with the wise and the good is one of the strong¬ 
est incentives to virtue and one of the greatest aids in securing 
the formation and the stability of a noble character. In the 
work of character building we take from others and also impart 
to them. There is a great truth expressed in the oft quoted 
line, — 

“lama part of all that I have met.” 

This is in full accordance with the assertion of the Apostle Paul 
that “ none of us liveth to himself, and none dieth to himself.” 
No one does or can exist entirely by himself in the unseen 
world any more than he can live independently of others here. 
This because spiritual laws are universal and unchangeable. A 
loss of the knowledge of what others have been to us would be 
virtually a loss of a part of ourselves. If they do not remember 
and are not able to recognize their earthly friends, the men and 


THE LIFE BEYOND 


409 

women who enter the new conditions become other men and 
women than they were in this life. If the idea of the recogni¬ 
tion of friends is rejected, the doctrine of the absolutely perma¬ 
nent personal identity of the soul cannot be maintained. 

As has already been shown, we have reason to suppose that 
the physical frame acts as a weight or clog upon the spirit, and 
that when it is set free from its earthly tabernacle A common . sense 
the powers of the soul which have been manifested view ‘ 
through the body here will be greatly increased in strength. It 
is highly probable that there will also be a manifestation of 
powers of the existence of which we are not as yet aware. The 
capacities of being will be wonderfully increased and the sphere 
of knowledge will be immeasurably enlarged. 

Here, with all of the limitations of the body, and of the 
earthly surroundings, we know our friends, not perfectly it is 
true, yet in many cases there is a very intimate acquaintance. 
It is incredible that death will cause us to lose all of this know¬ 
ledge unless it also deprives us of conscious existence, — a sup¬ 
position which we cannot for a moment entertain. Common 
sense, and philosophy, and religion, so far as they throw any 
light upon the subject, indicate that we shall, at the very least, 
know as much in the next world as we know here. Whether 
we desire to do so or not, we shall be obliged to enter the new 
realm with the characters which we have formed and the know¬ 
ledge which we have obtained while we dwelt upon the earth. 
This being the case, justice will require that we come in contact 
with those who have influenced us, or whom we have influenced 
either for good or for evil, and personal recognition will follow 
as a matter of course. 

There are various moral and spiritual ends which appear, even 
to the keenest intellect and to the most enlightened conscience, 
to be of incalculable importance, but which cannot From a mora , 
be secured without a recognition of friends in the point of uiew - 
future life. While we abide upon the earth we are enveloped in 
mysteries. Of these, many belong to the physical world. They 
appeal principally to our intellects and will be duly considered 
at a later stage of the inquiry with which we are now concerned. 
But there is another and an altogether different class of mys¬ 
teries with which every intelligent and thoughtful man is still 
more profoundly impressed. They also present intellectual 


4 io 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


problems, but to a far greater extent they have to do with the re¬ 
lations of the soul to God, to itself, and to the souls of those with 
whom it had been in some way connected in the earthly life. 

Among these mysteries which constantly surround us, yet for 
which no adequate explanation in the present state of being 
Frequent defeat seems possible, are the many providences which 
of m right. appear to be tending constantly and powerfully to¬ 

ward the subversion of the right and the establishment of the 
wrong. In numberless instances the vicious man has prosperity 
for his lifelong companion while the godly man is constantly on 
the most intimate terms with adversity. In many cases the 
wicked cause triumphs over the good. Money and influence 
often defeat the ends of justice. Not infrequently the innocent 
suffer and the guilty escape. Wherever there is a public senti¬ 
ment that in the main condemns wrongdoing there will be 
found frequent cases in which justice miscarries and the wrong 
wins the day. The men who are for the right are often defeated 
by fraud, and are sometimes overcome by force. Even under 
the best form of government, and the wisest and purest admin¬ 
istration, there is an incalculable amount of vice and crime. 

If this life is all the existence which men are to have, or if 
beyond this world men who have known each other here are to 
be strangers instead of acquaintances and friends, there is no 
theory which commends itself at once to reason, and to con- 
science, by which the facts just enumerated can be explained. 
Theosophists and the adherents to various other forms of Ori¬ 
ental philosophy assert that the evils from which men suffer 
here have their sources farther back than the present existence. 
The good man is afflicted for sins which he committed long ago, 
and the wicked man who prospers now is receiving the due 
reward for his good deeds in the perhaps distant past. In this 
manner all that now appears to be unjust in the inequality of 
conditions is explained. Such a theory of the universe, and of 
the way in which it is governed, we cannot accept. We believe 
that all things are directed, or permitted, by an all-wise Creator, 
and that He will, in due time, make plain all the mysteries with 
which His children are now perplexed and dismayed. And we 
have no doubt that the recognition after death of those who have 
known and influenced each other here will be one of the means 
by which this end will be effected. 


THE LIFE BEYOND 


411 

In this world God has not only given us the capacity to love, 
but He has taught us that we must exercise this love toward all 
the children of men. Not only this, but He has Essentia/to c 0m - 
taught us to sanctify all love by consecrating it to p' eteness °f 
Himself. The Bible abounds with descriptions of the ardent 
love of kindred and friends, and in various places in the New 
Testament the love of others is made the test of love to God. 
The Apostle John declares that “ if we love one another, God 
abideth in us.” And he further assures us that “ he that loveth 
not his brother whom he hath seen, cannot love God whom he 
hath not seen.” One of the very foundations of the religion of 
Christ is the exercise of kindly feelings and the performance, 
when necessary, of not only kindly, but helpful, deeds. 

Throughout the world, and among all classes of people, love 
is the great passion of life. It sustains men and women under 
the most terrible trials, it leads them to put forth the most heroic 
efforts, and enables them to make the purest and noblest sacri¬ 
fices of which human nature is capable. It is the most inspiring 
force in all the universe. It draws souls together as no other 
influence can. More than this, it survives all changes of fortune 
and all the mutations of time. God Himself is love, and in so 
far as their love is pure and consecrated, mankind follow Him 
when they are guided by this sacred and mysterious emotion. 

Now it would not be at all in accordance with the nature of 
God, as it is revealed to us in His Word, that He should give us 
a wonderful capacity for love, and allow this absorbing passion 
to have such a moulding and controlling effect upon everything 
which pertains to our being during the brief moment of our ex¬ 
istence in this world, and then deprive us of all its joys and all 
its possibilities for usefulness and development in the untold 
ages upon ages which lie beyond the earthly life. It seems 
utterly impossible that He should allow “ two souls to grow to¬ 
gether here, so that the separation of a day is pain, and then 
wrench them apart for all eternity.” 1 Such separations would 
leave only mutilated lives. It is not to be imagined, much less 
believed, that the noblest part of our nature will perish when the 
soul passes away from earth. No life can be complete apart 
from God, and there can be no true union with God unless there 
is also an affectionate union with His children. If recognition 

1 Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, Gates Ajar. 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


412 

of those whom we love here can perish after death, it is only 
natural to suppose that even the knowledge of the love of God 
may also cease. 

In this world friends are often widely separated by circum¬ 
stances which they cannot control. How many friends we have 
whom we seldom see and from whom we hear only 
misunderstand- at intervals of many years. The playmates of child- 
mgs offnends. com p an i 0 ns of youth, the classmates at 

institutions of learning, — how widely those who survive are 
scattered over the face of the earth ! How often, in youth, or 
middle life, the paths of the best of friends diverge never again 
to meet on earth ! Then, too, there are the far more pathetic 
separations of friends and relatives which are caused by misun¬ 
derstandings, by petty jealousies, or, perhaps, by actual wrongs. 
How often such separations continue for many years and no 
remedy for them is found on this side the grave! Yet through 
all the period of estrangement some measure of affection sur¬ 
vives, and after one of the parties has been removed by death 
the survivor, whether he believes that he suffered or committed 
the wrong, longs for an opportunity for reconciliation. Reason 
teaches that such separations, whether the result of changes of 
abode or caused by real or fancied wrongs, will not be final. It 
indicates that after the unseen world is entered there will be a 
complete recognition of those who knew each other here, and 
that an abundant opportunity will be given all who desire to do 
so to make amends for their shortcomings during the earthly 
life. 

It is a doctrine of Scripture that the angels are “ ministering 
spirits, sent forth to do service for the sake of them that shall 
Recognition of inherit salvation.” Popular legends have taught that 
angeis. each has its guardian angel, and some who 

have accepted this theory have held that the heavenly messenger 
continued its ministrations as long as the person lived. Various 
heathen peoples are said to have had a more or less clearly de¬ 
fined idea of this sort. Among the Jews the theory appears to 
have been quite generally held, and in the early Christian church 
it found many adherents. 

Among Christians the doctrine of a guardian angel was prin¬ 
cipally founded upon two passages of Scripture. Of these, one 
appears in the eighteenth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, and 


THE LIFE BEYOND 


413 

is a part of a discourse of Christ to his disciples. Here He says 
unto them, partly at least in warning against an offense which 
He saw that they were liable to commit: “ See that ye despise 
not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, that in heaven 
their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in 
heaven.” The other statement is found in the twelfth chapter 
of the Acts of the Apostles, and forms part of the narrative of 
the deliverance of the Apostle Peter from prison. When the 
maid who had been called to the gate by his knocking informed 
the company in the house, who were then engaged in prayer for 
him, that the Apostle himself had come, they called her mad, 
and insisted that she had heard, not Peter, but “ his angel.” 

While the idea that a good angel attended the child, and per¬ 
haps was near him during all his earthly life, was held by many 
Christians, and was upheld by some of the Fathers, it did not 
become an established doctrine of the church. In course of 
time, however, the reverence for angels increased to such an 
extent that they were invoked and even worshiped by some of 
the more zealous believers in the influence of these heavenly 
ministers in the affairs of men. This was considered by others as 
verging closely upon, if not actually amounting to, idolatry. At 
one of the great councils of the church this matter was con¬ 
sidered, and it was decided that angels should not be worshiped, 
but that “ a reverential obeisance ” — to their images, we sup¬ 
pose — would not be wrong. 

Some of the Fathers believed in evil angels as fully as they 
did in those who were good. They taught that while the one 
class constantly prompted men to good thoughts and deeds, the 
other class were equally active and efficient in leading to evil 
thoughts and inciting to wicked deeds. The belief spread to a 
considerable extent and has never become extinct, but it is prob¬ 
ably not nearly as common or as influential now as it was a few 
centuries ago. 

To reflective men who have believed either in the theory of 
a special guardian angel for each person, or have thought that 
as men had need of their aid these messengers of God were sent 
to their relief, the question of recognition of these heavenly 
beings in the world beyond has been of great interest. It is 
not at all improbable that these angels will join the souls of the 
departed very soon after they enter the spiritual world, if, indeed, 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


4H 

they do not hover around the beds of the dying ones, and guide 
the souls from earth to their new abode. Just how recognition 
of these hitherto unseen friends will be effected we cannot tell; 
but the problem is no more difficult than are many others which 
we cannot solve here, but which we have no doubt will be 
quickly made clear when the need for explanation appears. 

Then, too, there is the question of the recognition of men 
whom we have not seen on earth, but of whom we have read or 
Recognition of heard, and who have not only awakened our interest, 
P he7e°oni k y n by n but have greatly influenced our lives. It is not to 
reputation. k e imagined that any Christian is to be long in the 

presence of such men as Abraham, and Moses, and David, and 
Isaiah, or of the Apostle Paul, or Peter, or John, and not know 
that he has been permitted to meet some distinguished person¬ 
age. Whether a formal introduction will be required, or there 
will be an intuitive recognition of these illustrious characters, 
cannot be asserted; but that there will be, on the part of all who 
see them, a knowledge of the identity of such leaders in the 
cause of God, we have not the slightest doubt. We believe, 
too, that in some way John Bunyan and a host of others whose 
writings have been the means of guiding souls to heaven will 
be quickly recognized by those whom they have thus led in the 
way of life. 

Great thinkers, too, who by their studies and investigations 
have helped and encouraged each other, and who have inspired 
and guided many of their humbler readers, will also be naturally 
attracted to each other. It is said that in talking with Emer¬ 
son some one made a disparaging remark concerning Renan, 
the French scholar, whose views, though brilliant, no one who 
holds anything approaching the Christian faith can accept. The 
American philosopher replied: “ I do not know the man. I do 
not think as he does. We have never met, but—I think we 
shall.” He recognized in Renan an earnest student, whom he 
believed to be mistaken as to his conclusions, but of whose sin¬ 
cerity he had not the slightest doubt. We can readily suppose 
that men of such natures and capacities will be friends hereafter. 
This, too, will doubtless be the case with great poets, and 
scientists, and patriots, and men who have become distinguished, 
or who have faithfully tried to win distinction in any honest line 
of human endeavor. Such souls will either be drawn together 


THE LIFE BEYOND 


415 

by a law of mutual attraction, or will soon seek and find, and if 
strangers here, become acquainted with each other in the home 
which they enter at death. 

The reasons which have been stated in support of the doc¬ 
trine of the recognition of friends in the world to come are of a 
good deal of weight. They go very far toward prov- Testimony from 
ing the case. But in matters of this kind the Scrip- the Scri P tures - 
tures are the chief and the final authority. Whatever we may 
learn from other sources, the knowledge thus obtained must be 
supplemented by revelation. We reason from the finite up to 
the infinite. We can understand much of the former, but for 
the latter we need a teacher whose knowledge has no bounds. 
And so we look to the Bible for information regarding all doc¬ 
trines which have to do with life beyond the grave. 

In our reference to the very early history of mankind we 
stated that, in recording the death of various patriarchs, the 
sacred historian used the term “ gathered to his people,” or one 
of a similar import. The use of such a phrase seems equivalent 
to a statement that these men had not passed out of existence, 
but had gone to be with relatives whom they would see and 
know in the spiritual world. 

Farther along in the Scriptures, and considerably later in the 
point of time, we have narratives which plainly teach the doc¬ 
trine of the recognition of friends in the future life. T he prophet and 
In the description of the appeal of King Saul to the theking ‘ 
spirit of the Prophet Samuel there is evidence that the inhabit¬ 
ants of the world beyond the one in which we are living now 
remember the past and recognize those with whom they had to 
do on earth. At this interview it was revealed to Saul that he 
and his sons would be with Samuel on the following day. The 
natural inference is that the parties were to know each other 
as readily and as fully in the new realm as they had been 
acquainted in this world. 

Then there is another narrative in which the doctrine of 
recognition after death appears to be very clearly set forth. 
This relates to the sickness and death of one of the Kfn g Davidand 
children of David. We read that during the pro- hlschlld • 
gress of the illness, the king “besought God for the child; and 
David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth. 
And the elders of his house arose, and stood beside him, to raise 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


416 

him up from the earth: but he would not, neither did he eat 
bread with them. And it came to pass on the seventh day, that 
the child died.” When this event occurred the servants of the 
king were reluctant to tell him, for fear that he would be so 
overcome as to do himself harm. But when he learned the 
truth there was an instant change in his demeanor. He arose 
from the earth, washed and anointed himself, changed his 
apparel, and went to the house of the Lord to worship. Thence 
he returned home and partook of food. His servants were 
greatly perplexed by this peculiar conduct, and inquired as to its 
cause. The king explained it by saying that while the child 
lived he fasted and wept in hope that the Lord would be 
gracious to him and restore the sick one to health. But now 
that he had found that his desire was not in accordance with the 
will of God, and the child had passed away from earth, there was 
no reason to continue the fasting and lamentation. In the 
midst of his affliction he was comforted by the thought that the 
parting was only for a brief period. “ I shall go to him, but he 
shall not return to me,” are the words in which this illustrious 
king expressed his belief in the idea that there would be a 
meeting and a recognition of friends in another world. 

In the fourteenth chapter of the book of Isaiah we find a 
prophecy concerning the king of Babylon in which occurs a 
a prophetic description of the excitement which would be caused 
picture. by t ] ie entrance of his soul into the invisible world. 

The inhabitants of this realm are represented as taunting him 
with his weakness and humiliation as compared with his former 
strength and glory. “ How art thou fallen from heaven, O day 
star, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, 
which didst lay low the nations,” are among the numerous greet¬ 
ings which he receives as he enters the home of the dead. This 
account is given with the vivid coloring of Oriental figures, but, 
after making all possible deductions for the play of the imagina¬ 
tion, it certainly teaches that the spirits of the departed recog¬ 
nize each other in the world to which they go at death. 

There are other passages in the Old Testament which strongly 
still clearer light i nt i mat e that the inhabitants of the unseen world 
from the New are aware of the coming of other spirits and are 

Testament. . . . 11 • 1 1 r 

able to recognize all with whom they have had ac- 
quaintance here. But it is to the New Testament, with its later 


CHRIST INSTRUCTING AN INQUIRER. 


t 


t 



i 































































































































































































THE LIFE BEYOND 


417 

and its far more complete revelation, that we turn for the clear¬ 
est light upon this great subject. Here we do not find the doc¬ 
trine explicitly stated, but there are many passages which imply 
that those who on earth are friends lose none of their knowledge 
of, or affection for, each other by passing through the experience 
of death. In fact, the idea of recognition beyond the grave 
seems to have been so generally understood and accepted that 
no one thought that an elaborate statement or defense of it was 
required. 

In one of His discourses Christ urges His hearers to “strive 
to enter in by the narrow door,” and declares that, on account of 
their sins, many who seek to enter will not obtain A warning t0 the 
admission. Of those who are excluded He says: unre P entant 
“ There shall be the weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye 
shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, 
in the kingdom of God, and yourselves cast forth without.” Here 
we are plainly taught that people of the class to whom Christ 
referred as unfit to enter the abode of the righteous would see 
and know the patriarchs and the prophets who had, long before 
His coming to earth, entered their home in the realm which lies 
beyond the range of mortal vision. It is incredible that they 
should have this power of recognition as it concerned notable 
characters of earlier times, and have not been able to know their 
own relatives and friends. 

The narrative of the rich man and Lazarus is a still more em¬ 
phatic utterance of Christ as respects the doctrine of recognition 
after death. It does not make the slightest differ- The rtch man and 
ence, so far as this point is concerned, whether this Lazarus - 
narrative is, as we believe, historical, or is merely a parable. It 
is certainly a statement of what Christ believed, and what He 
designed to teach, upon this subject. The rich man both saw 
and knew Abraham and Lazarus. He knew, too, that Lazarus 
was the identical man who had, in former times, lain at his gate 
and desired to be fed with the crumbs which fell from his table. 
The recognition was complete. And there was nothing about 
the circumstances of the case to make it an exception to the 
general rule. The narrative taught, as plainly and as emphati¬ 
cally as a direct statement could have done, the fact that men 
who know each other before death will know each other after 
they die. If there were no evidences or intimations from other 
27 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


418 

sources, and there were not another line of Scripture in its favor, 
this narrative should remove all doubt as to the truth of the doc¬ 
trine that after the scene of life and activity has been transferred 
to another world there will be a full recognition of each other by 
those who were acquainted on earth. 

The words of Christ at the tomb of Lazarus also support the 
doctrine of recognition in the future. The sorrowing Martha 
Christ at the tomb was confident that her brother would “rise again in 
of a friend. the resurrection at the last day.” She believed that 
when this great event came to pass she should meet him again 
and know him as intimately as she had known him before he 
died. If her confidence as to their power of recognition had 
failed, and she had thought it possible that they would be 
strangers to each other in the world to come, she would have 
found comparatively little comfort in the idea of the resurrec¬ 
tion. Though unknown to her, Christ was about to restore her 
brother to the earthly life, and the old love and companionship 
would go on as they had done before the dark shadow of death 
had fallen over the peaceful home in Bethany. As a matter of 
course, the relatives knew each other while they continued to 
live in this world. But they also knew that there would come a 
time which would mark their final separation here. If, after that 
moment had passed, they were to meet again it must be in the 
realm which is beyond the earth. And the Master did not inti¬ 
mate that Martha was to be disappointed in the expectation that 
she would meet and know her brother in that unseen land. 

Then, too, in an argument with the Sadducees concerning the 
resurrection of the dead, Christ allowed the doctrine of recogni- 
Repty of Christ to tion in the future life to stand unchallenged. His 
the sadducees. opponents cited the case of a woman who, in accord¬ 
ance with the law of Moses regarding instances of this kind, had 
been successively the wife of seven brothers, and asked : “ Whose 
wife shall she be of the seven ? ” Such a question implied that 
if life continued after death, which the Sadducees denied, there 
would, in such cases, be a perfect recognition of and by all the 
parties concerned. Christ replied that life would persist, but 
that its conditions would be very different from those of this 
world. The institution of marriage would cease. Its purpose 
had been accomplished on earth. It would neither be necessary 
nor desirable in the new home of the soul. But He did not give 


THE LIFE BEYOND 


419 

the slightest hint that the doctrine of recognition after death was 
incorrect. He left His hearers free to suppose that, though the 
special tie which had united these parties on earth would not 
bind them beyond this world, they would continue to know each 
other as fully as they had been acquainted here. From this we 
must infer that Christ, who was the very embodiment of truth, 
designed to sanction the doctrine of recognition after death. 

Various other sayings of Christ indicate, even more forcibly 
than some which we have noted, that He fully indorsed the 
doctrine of recognition hereafter. As we read the 
history of His life we find that He desires that His ments of the 
followers shall be with Him in His future abode. doctrinebyChr,st 
He knows His sheep by name. For those who have followed 
Him, and for all who in the future shall believe on His name, 
He offers a prayer that they may so love each other as to become 
practically one. He speaks of the men of Nineveh who “ shall 
stand up in the judgment ” with those of His own generation 
and condemn them, because the former repented of their sins, 
although they had but little light as compared with the people 
to whom His message of salvation was delivered. These things 
point to a recognition of people by each other after they leave 
this world. And the doctrine is still further emphasized by the 
Master’s representation of the future abode of the righteous as a 
home which would be prepared for them by Himself. All of 
this, and much more that Christ said and did while He was on 
earth, would lose all meaning if the idea of recognition in the 
new life were eliminated. 

In various portions of the New Testament which do not deal 
directly with the life of Christ, and which do not to any extent 
record His words, there are the strongest of intima- # ^ 

. 0 Later portions of 

tions that acquaintanceship will continue beyond the the New Testa- 
grave. Much is said of the household of the faith, 
of Christian fellowship, and of the family of God. Such terms 
could have but little meaning if they were restricted to the pre¬ 
sent life. Paul speaks of those who have faith in Christ as 
“ members one of another,” and he urges his converts to lead 
blameless lives, not only that they may work out their own salva¬ 
tion and by their examples do good in the world, but also that 
because of their fidelity he “ may have whereof to glory in the 
day of Christ,” and have ample proof that he “ did not run in 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


420 

vain neither labor in vain.” Such statements and appeals show 
that he expected to know these people in the future life as the 
identical ones for whom and with whom he labored in this 
world. 

In the first Epistle to the Thessalonians the same Apostle 
writes as follows: “ But we would not have you ignorant, 
brethren, concerning them that fall asleep; that ye sorrow not, 
even as the rest, which have no hope.” Some have interpreted 
this passage to mean that those who have buried believing 
friends should not be unduly sorrowful. They should be com¬ 
forted because the departed are still conscious and at the last 
day will rise in bodily form. Other students of the Bible have 
thought that these words must have a deeper meaning than ap¬ 
pears on the surface. For, they believe, the people to whom this 
epistle was sent had, without doubt, been fully instructed as to 
the facts of conscious existence after death and the happiness 
of those who died with a vital faith in Christ. Therefore it has 
seemed to some, at least, of these students, that the object of the 
Apostle in writing these words was not to strengthen the faith 
of his readers in doctrines which they already clearly under¬ 
stood and fully believed, but was to assure them that there 
should be not only a continuance of life but also a recognition 
and reunion of Christian friends beyond the grave. Whether 
this was, or was not, the principal idea which he designed to 
express, it was doubtless in his mind and formed a part of the 
truth which he wished to set forth. It is certain that his words 
justify this opinion and that they may be legitimately used to 
sustain the doctrine that we shall know each other after we pass 
beyond the bounds of the present world. 

Numerous other passages in the New Testament which sus¬ 
tain the doctrine of recognition in the future life might be 
necontinuance of quoted, but those to which reference has been made 
family ties. seem more than sufficient for its establishment in f 
the minds and hearts of those who believe in the inspiration of 
the Scriptures. To those who do not accept the Bible as the 
Word of God other references would be useless. So we need 
not further pursue this line of inquiry. But closely connected 
with, and to some extent growing out of, this doctrine, are cer¬ 
tain matters which are of great interest and which both deserve 
and demand consideration. Among these is the question 


THE LIFE BEYOND 


421 

whether the special ties, such as those of the family, of friend¬ 
ship, and of nationality, which bind people together here will be 
continued beyond this world. 

Upon this point a great deal has been written and widely 
divergent ideas have been expressed. It is true that the doc¬ 
trine of recognition does not depend upon a con- Not necessary to 
tinuance of these ties. Continued existence and reco ^ nition - 
perfect recognition are possible without the persistence of any 
of these earthly bonds. And yet as men think of the great 
future, and look forward to the time when they will be subject 
to its conditions, they naturally wonder how far the life beyond 
corresponds to the existence here. As their loved ones are 
called away they can hardly help inquiring whether the tender 
ties which have united them in this world will pass away with 
the departure of the soul. They almost involuntarily ask if such 
relationships as those of husband and wife, of parent and child, 
of brother and sister, can or will be destroyed. 

Upon this point we quote as follows from an able writer: 
“ The family itself, with all its inclusions, is an earthly institu¬ 
tion. It typifies nothing that is permanent except May complete 
the one great family of which God is the Father, their seruice here ' 
and we children. Reason alone would infer the abrogation of 
all such relations, inasmuch as that for which they were insti¬ 
tuted terminates with the present earthly state.” 1 All this may 
be true. Whatever relationships have been arranged especially 
for this world will, as a matter of course, cease when we depart 
this life. They would, apparently, be useless in the place and 
state which we enter at death. The only point at issue is 
whether these ties which are formed on earth may not have 
some purpose to serve beyond the bounds of time. 

The view just presented is far from being universally accepted. 
Charles Kingsley, in writing of his wife, said: “ I know that if 
immortality is to include, in my case, identity of per- Possfbmty of 
son, I shall feel to her forever what I feel now. continuance - 
That feeling may be developed in ways which I do not expect; 
it may have provided for it forms of expression very different 
from any which are among the holiest sacraments of life; of 
that I take no care. The union I believe to be as eternal as 
my own soul.” 

1 Bishop Randolph S. Foster, Beyond the Grave. 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


422 

A later writer, who has carefully considered the life of the 
righteous after they pass from this world, has stated his view of 
the case in a manner that is interesting and instructive. After 
asking the question, “ When our spirits meet again, is there no 
hope that the relationships of earth will be taken up and re¬ 
newed ? ” he remarks that some religious leaders have taught 
that such ties were sinful in this life and would perish at death. 
Thus Buddha deserted his wife and child in hope that by this 
means he could the more readily find the path that leads to 
absolute perfection. Some, too, in Christian lands, have held 
that all the relationships of earth would pass away when the 
earth ceased to be the abode of those who had been thus united. 
Such views are summarily rejected, and our author continues as 
follows: “ But to us who know that Christ consecrated marriage 
by His presence, and sanctified childhood by His embrace, and 
restored to widowhood her only son and to parentage its little 
daughter, and to sisterhood their only brother, there can be no 
possible doubt of the sacredness of all human affections and 
relationships. . . . Lifted up to its highest spiritual type, there 
will still be the mutual feeling of mother towards her child, and 
of child towards its mother, of husband towards his wife, and of 
wife towards her husband.” 1 The writer just quoted admits 
that there are difficult problems connected with this subject 
which “ sometimes bewilder the hopes of renewed relationships 
in another world,” but he thinks that the difficulty which they 
involve comes “ from thinking of eternity under the limitations 
of time.” He also explains the incident of the argument of the 
Sadducees with Christ in regard to the woman who had seven 
husbands, by saying that the kind of marriage which prevailed 
at that time was vastly different from that which represents the 
union of two true and loving hearts. In the case referred to by 
the Sadducees in their effort to prove that life would not con¬ 
tinue beyond the grave the woman was not a wife in the true 
sense of the word, but was a kind of property which, like land 
and other things of value, was subject to the laws of inheritance. 
It is neither natural nor reasonable that a tie of this kind should 
survive death. 

There is also an instinctive feeling and desire that the ties of 
this world will be carried to the world beyond. The widow 

1 Rev. Charles H. Strong, In Paradise . 


THE LIFE BEYOND 


423 

looks forward to meeting her husband, not merely as a man with 
whom she was acquainted on earth but as one who An instinctive 
sustained a closer relationship to her than any other deslre • 
person. The father thinks of the child who has passed into the 
unseen realm as still his child; and the mother never ceases to 
feel the same motherly interest in the children who have been 
taken from her by death that she felt while they were with her 
here. Some one has expressed a belief that as long as the fam¬ 
ily circle is unbroken the members live only “ a half life.” Be¬ 
fore the family life can have its highest development it must 
send some of its members as “forerunners into the heavenly 
world.” Doubtless this is true, though it does not depend for 
its truth upon the continuance of the earthly ties after death. 
Its truth involves the hope of recognition, of course, but does 
not make necessary the restoration of the old relationships. 
The effect of the separation is upon the survivors of the family, 
not upon the departed. 

Whether the relationships of earth are known or unknown in 
the new life, the remembrance of them will doubtless continue 
unimpaired. The particular duties which in this W m at least be 
world parents owe their children and children owe remembered - 
their parents we may be sure will not be required in the new 
life. To this extent at least the ties which bound them together 
here will perish. This will be true even where the family life 
was of the highest and noblest type and was sanctified and con¬ 
secrated by the love of God. But we believe that as regards 
such families there will be on the part of their members much 
more than a mere recollection of the relationship which formerly 
existed. The old duties are no longer required, but the old 
affection abides. And because they were united here their souls 
will be drawn closer to each other in the world beyond than 
they would have been if they had been strangers or merely 
acquaintances on earth. 

Where, as is often the case, the members of the family have 
no common bond of union, but are separated, in thought and 
feeling at least, by widely differing interests, there is no reason 
to suppose that after death there will be any stronger attraction 
than there was on earth. If for want of common interests here 
the members of a family drift away from each other until, in the 
course of time and by the operation of a law of our human 


424 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


nature they become practically strangers, the natural inference 
must be that they will remain as indifferent to each other in 
their new home as they have been in this world. In the still 
more deplorable instances in which the family life is a constant 
discord, and home, which should be the happiest place on earth, 
is regarded with the greatest disfavor, we cannot imagine that 
the ties of this world will be known beyond the grave. But in 
all of these cases, with their many gradations, there will surely 
be a remembrance of the relationships which were sustained on 
earth. 

It often occurs in this world that the ties of friendship are 
stronger and more enduring than are those of blood. While, 
The ties of friend- for reasons which have already been stated, we are 
8hip ’ not to expect the reorganization of families in the 

unseen world, we think there is abundant reason to suppose that 
the pure and holy friendships of earth will continue forever. 
The special duties of the family cease at death, but we do not 
see why the mutual claims of a true friendship may not be 
eternal. 

Some have feared that relatives and friends who have long 
preceded them into the spiritual world will make such advances 
in knowledge and goodness, and will find so many souls with 
which, because of a similarity of tastes, they will have become 
intimate since they passed away from earth, as to make them 
forgetful or indifferent regarding the ones who are left behind 
to continue the conflict with the forces which tend to dwarf 
their higher natures. But this is a groundless fear. We may 
be sure that “all love is of God and will endure. We need not 
fear that our friend whom we have loved so much here will leave 
us there for some higher society with which he has more affin¬ 
ity. ... It is the nature of Christian love to be able to come 
down in deeper sympathy with all below, as it ascends in full¬ 
ness of life to loftier attainment above.” 1 

It is certain that the affections form a large part of the higher 
nature of humanity. They are interwoven with everything which 
pertains to the present state of those who live in accordance 
with the law of righteousness. The tie of a true friendship re¬ 
mains strong and unyielding through all the changes of time 
and the vicissitudes of fortune, and never fails until those whom 

1 James Freeman Clarke, D. D., Common Sense in Religion. 


THE LIFE BEYOND 


425 

it had united as with bands of steel are separated by death. 
Even then, the survivor has a right to feel that the parting will 
be for only a little while. Communication has been interrupted, 
it is true, but there is every reason to believe that the friend who 
is on the other side of the line by which they are separated is 
waiting and watching for a reunion as eagerly as is the one who 
remains upon earth. Those who have gone from us remember 
us even as we remember them, and they doubtless look forward 
to a joyful meeting with us when we shall have followed them 
into the spiritual realm. We cannot doubt that where the par¬ 
ties were here united in Christian love the one who remains is 
fully justified in accepting as his own the sentiment of Charles 
Wesley, as expressed in the following verse from one of his 
hymns: — 

“ I feel a strong, immortal hope, 

Which bears my mournful spirit up 
Beneath its mountain load ; 

Redeemed from death, and grief and pain, 

I soon shall find my friend again, 

Within the arms of God.” 

In connection with the doctrine of recognition beyond this 
world there has been a great deal of speculation as to what 
would occur in cases in which some members of a 

, . . Recognition by 

family died in infancy, or early childhood, while those long 
others lived to an advanced age; or in those in which separ ° 
the parents died while their children were quite young, and the 
latter lived to the period of middle life, or beyond that stage. 
For instance, a mother dies, leaving several small children. 
She passes at once into the spiritual world and, we believe, makes 
constant progress in the new life. Her children grow up, go 
through the ordinary experiences of humanity, and, after spend¬ 
ing their allotted time here, are called away. When they die 
they are not only much older than they were when their mother 
was taken from them, but they also have greatly changed in 
form and character. The question at once comes to mind, How 
is she to recognize them as her children ? How, too, are they 
to know that she is their mother ? 

To these queries, and others of a similar nature, no certain 
answer can be given. It is possible that those who enter the 
world of spirits are permitted to know the condition of the ones 
whom they left behind at death. They may be watching over 
27 * 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


426 

us with a deep and unceasing interest This, however, is prin¬ 
cipally conjecture. We have no doubt that the departed remem¬ 
ber us, and that they care for us as truly and as earnestly as they 
did before they died, but we do not feel as sure that they are 
able to keep us under their constant observation. And, even if 
it is true that those in the spiritual world are fully informed as 
to what occurs to their friends upon the earth, this fact only 
helps them to solve the problem. It does not assist us at all. 
It shows how they may at once know us when we enter the 
realm in which they abide, but it throws no light upon the ques¬ 
tion how we are to recognize them. We have no means of 
knowing what changes they may pass through during the inter¬ 
val of separation. 

Perhaps the true solution of the problem will be found in an 
immensely increased power of the mental and spiritual faculties 
and perceptions after death. In this world relatives or friends 
may be separated for many years, each of the parties may greatly 
change in appearance, and yet if they accidentally meet, the old 
acquaintanceship will soon be brought to mind. If this power 
is sufficiently increased it will enable all who knew each other 
here promptly to recognize one another in the world which is 
entered at death. A writer who, in common with others, has 
noted this explanation, has also suggested that possibly the soul 
may be able to change its form, as after His resurrection Christ 
changed the appearance of His body, “ so that neither Thomas 
nor any of His other disciples might ever doubt, even in their 
darkest hours, that they had seen the risen Lord.” 1 To us the 
theory of quickened perceptions appears the more probable. 

We may also expect that the differences of age with which we 
are familiar here will be continued in the future world. One of 
ah periods 0 f £ rea t charms of earthly life and earthly society 

human ufe is found in their wonderful diversity. Doubtless the 
same principle will hold true in the new abode of 
the human race. The different ages which are needed to make 
up the ideal community here will be found in the life beyond. 
This is a dictate of reason and common sense, and there are 
biblical intimations that it represents the actual condition of 
society in the spiritual world. 

When the Prophet Zechariah foretold the restoration of the 

1 William W. Kinsley, Old Faiths and New Facts . 


THE LIFE BEYOND 


427 

Holy City, he assured the scattered captives that “ there shall 
yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, 
every man with his staff in his hand for very age.” But to fully 
complete the picture of the peace and happiness which should 
then prevail, he added: “ And the streets of the city shall be 
full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof.” This, he 
made known to his people, was no mere fancy of his own, but 
was the veritable word of God. His commission to present this 
inspiring description was stated in the solemn words: “ Thus 
saith the Lord of hosts.” 

The Jerusalem of which the prophet wrote and spoke was a 
type and a symbol of the city of God, in which His loving sub¬ 
jects shall find a home when the duties and the trials of life in 
this world have become things of the past. This prophecy, as 
well as various other references, gives us scriptural ground for 
believing that in the realm which the righteous enter at death 
they will find all the diversities of age. There will be infants, 
and children, and youth, and middle-aged, and aged ones there. 
All will be happy and all will be led along “ the sublime and 
eternal path of progress.” Yet the differences of age, as well as 
those of the mental and spiritual organization, will remain. But 
all will live on a far higher plane than that of earth. So there 
will be no weakness of infancy and no infirmity of age. From 
the youngest to the eldest, each according to the measure of its 
individual capacity, the soul will be filled with the power and 
rejoice in the glory of an immortal life. 

The thought that in another world we shall recognize those 
with whom we have been acquainted here should induce us to 
earnestly strive to form noble characters while we A motive for pure 
remain upon earth. There all masks are thrown ltving ' 
aside and all deceptions are exposed. Appearances will no 
longer mislead. We shall pass for just what we are. And the 
way in which we live here is sure to determine our place and 
condition elsewhere. 

It is important to remember that all life in the intermediate 
state, or in heaven, is not on the same plane. The man who 
thinks that he can live a careless, worldly, and an essentially 
selfish life here, and yet enter the unseen world with a soul fitted 
for the noblest pleasures and the highest enjoyments, is making 
a terrible mistake. If he dwarfs his soul here he must find it a 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


428 

dwarfed soul hereafter. If he desires to enter a rich and glorious 
life beyond this world he should fit himself for it here. And if 
he wishes to meet and enjoy companionship with the relatives 
and friends who have served God here, and are now rejoicing in 
His love in a higher sphere of life and activity than this world 
affords, he must prepare himself by consecration and effort for 
the conditions which prevail in the home to which they have 
gone. 

Doubtless in the future as in the present life the soul will 
seek congenial society. People of similar tastes are drawn 
toward each other far more strongly than are those who are 
not specially interested in the same subjects. In the line of 
intelligence, too, there is a similar attraction. Educated people 
prefer the society of those who have had the advantages of in¬ 
tellectual culture, while the ignorant choose companions who 
have made but little progress in learning. So far as the life 
here is concerned this is perfectly natural. Indeed, it could not 
well be otherwise. To a certain extent the same principle will 
govern men hereafter. But it will not be as prevailing and in¬ 
fluential as it is here and now. For in the spiritual world the 
souls that desire to rise to higher planes of life, and hold com¬ 
munion with those who are far more advanced than themselves, 
will undoubtedly be enabled to do so. Those whom they desire 
to meet will recognize their wishes and sympathize with them 
in their aspirations. More than this, they will most cheerfully 
render all the aid that may be required. 

There are, it is true, many noble men who would gladly help 
those who are less capable, or who have been less earnest than 
themselves in meeting the duties and responsibilities of life, but 
who are so limited by circumstances which are beyond their 
control that only a small part of what they earnestly wish to do 
can be accomplished. They help some, they would help others 
if they could. We believe that in the new life the work thus 
commenced upon earth will go on in vastly increased extent 
and with an immeasurably greater degree of success. There 
will be millions of aspiring souls who will be educated and 
encouraged by those who were noble and consecrated here and 
who have made great progress since they entered upon the 
purer life beyond. But the desire for holiness should begin 
here if we would have those whom we reverence and love to be 


THE LIFE BEYOND 


429 

our helpers, and to some extent our companions, when we have 
departed from the earth. Radical differences in character will 
not prevent recognition after this life, but they may, and there 
are the strongest of reasons to fear that they will, make com¬ 
munication impossible. 

The doctrine of the recognition of friends beyond the grave 
is one which should bring great and constant comfort to all who 
mourn the departure of loved ones from their former Acomfortin 
homes and from the service of God on earth. If 50mw - 
those who remain are true to Him the separation will not be 
long continued. The parting can then be borne with a degree 
of fortitude which would be impossible if there were no reason¬ 
able expectation of a reunion in the not distant future. We 
believe that the separation is much like that which occurs in 
this world when friends leave us to visit a foreign land. They 
pass out of our sight for a time, but they and we look forward to 
a reunion. So when parted by death we may expect to meet 
again. Unlike the earthly partings, however, our friends will 
not come back to us. Not they, but we, shall make the journey 
which will bring us together again. But we should bravely bear 
the trial of separation and should rejoice in the thought that 
each passing day brings us nearer to the time when we shall go 
to the country in which they have found a home, and in which 
we, too, shall remain. 

We have already shown that in patriarchal times, among the 
cultured nations of antiquity, and with the uncivilized peoples of 
different periods of time who were widely sepa- A doctrine of the 
rated as to their places of abode, there has been a Christian church - 
more or less clearly defined hope or belief that in some region 
beyond the visible world the souls of the dead would be gathered 
and the acquaintanceships of earth would be renewed. With the 
coming of Christ a far brighter light regarding the future life 
was given, and what had been a desire erelong became an 
established doctrine. In the early church it appears to have 
been one of the points concerning which there was little cause 
for doubt. From that time to the present day it has been the 
very general belief of Christian people that in another world 
they should meet all of their loved ones who died in the faith. 
The Reverend Thomas Becon, one of the English Reformers, 
stated the doctrine as follows: “ If your friends live in the fear 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


430 

of God, and depart in the Christian faith,” they will be sure to 
come “ unto the glorious kingdom of God, where you shall both 
see them, know them, talk with them, and be much more joyful 
with them than ever you were in this world.” Numbers of 
other preachers and writers of earlier as well as of later dates 
could be quoted as expressing similar sentiments. 

In recent times this appears to have been the common belief, 
and of late there have been a large number of most emphatic 
statements of the doctrine by men of prominence in the various 
Christian denominations. Thus Dr. Theodore L. Cuyler, has 
said: “ That our heavenly home will satisfy our fullest social 
longings we cannot doubt. . . . The recognition of friends there 
cannot possibly be a question of doubt. No barriers of caste can 
separate those who are children of the one Father, and dwelling 
in the same household.” And in treating “ the question of 
recognition in the other world,” an able theologian declared that 
“it ought never to have been an open question at all. It would 
take a direct revelation to make me believe that God would per¬ 
mit a state of things so pitiable and contrary to all that we know 
of His character as non-recognition would imply.” 1 

The evidences which have been presented bear witness so 
strongly in favor of the doctrine of the recognition of friends 
objections to the after death, and this view so perfectly harmonizes 
doctrine. with the purest and the noblest sentiments of the 

human heart, as well as fully corresponds with what we know of 
the ways of God in the past and what has been revealed con¬ 
cerning His purposes in the future, that it seems almost impos¬ 
sible that any one who believes the Bible can reject the idea 
that friendships which are formed on earth will be continued in 
the future life. Yet it is a fact that a few people who hold the 
general tenets of the religion of Christ, and of whose sincerity 
there can be no question, are confident that upon this point the 
vast majority of their brethren are in error. According to their 
view we shall enter the unseen world as strangers to all whom 
we have ever known in this life. All earthly ties are sundered 
at death. With the final parting here relatives and friends are 
as completely and eternally lost to each other as they would be 
if death involved the destruction of the body and the annihila¬ 
tion of the soul. 

1 Lewis F. Steams, Present Day Theology. 


THE LIFE BEYOND 


431 

Of those who reject the doctrine of recognition after death 
probably much the larger number do so because of the belief 
that if it were true the saved would be constantly o . 

. f - _ r , , J Relatives and 

sorrowing for relatives and friends who were lost, friends who are 
We are forced to believe that many, in all, pass 
out of this world in a spiritual condition which entirely unfits 
them for the society of the pure and disqualifies them for the 
enjoyments and the pleasures which God has provided for 
those who have been loyal to Him. For such there must be 
exclusion from the realm in which holiness is the condition and 
love is the law of existence. This, and what naturally and 
inevitably grows out of it, is a fearful punishment. And there 
will be many in the better world who will know that some of 
their nearest relatives, and their most cherished friends while on 
earth, are undergoing this chastisement. This knowledge, it is 
claimed, would make happiness impossible even in heaven. We 
are not disposed to depreciate this argument. It presents a 
real and a serious difficulty. Yet we cannot believe that it is 
insuperable, or that it should in the slightest degree impair our 
faith in the doctrine of recognition hereafter. 

Various explanations have been made which are designed to 
reconcile the apparent contradiction involved in the perfect hap¬ 
piness of the good and the knowledge, on their part, that many 
of their loved ones are in a condition of misery. Some hold that 
punishment is principally, if not wholly, remedial, and believe 
that it will, sooner or later, bring forth fruit for good. They 
hope, and many of them expect, the ultimate restoration of all 
souls. Others believe that those who will not repent will even¬ 
tually be utterly destroyed. They will look upon the punishment 
of the lost as a proper and necessary vindication of the justice of 
God, whose call to obedience was persistently refused. They 
will be sustained by the belief that when the end for which it is 
inflicted is secured the suffering will cease forever. Those who 
believe that the punishment of some who are dear to them will 
be eternal may be sustained by the thought that God is infinitely 
just, and consequently not one of His creatures will be wronged 
in the slightest degree. They will remember, too, that Christ 
loves these souls infinitely more than any human being can care 
for them, and they can also be sure that if it is possible those 
who have been lost will be brought back to God. 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


432 

Some have thought that the saved will “ have such enlarged 
views of God’s holiness, wisdom, and justice,” and will “ so clearly 
discern the reasons of the sentence of condemnation ” against the 
lost, that they will fully acquiesce therein. Others have thought 
that the saved will have the power of keeping their thoughts 
from anything which would cause them the slightest degree of 
unhappiness. Another theory is that in some way God will, if 
necessary, “ providentially interpose ” and by some merciful pro¬ 
vision will keep the saved in perfect peace even though they 
know of the sufferings of those who are dear to them. Various 
other methods of solving the problem have been suggested. 
Which, if any of them, is correct, cannot be affirmed. But we 
know that God has infinite resources and that He will surely 
give the happiness which He has promised to all who trust in 
Him. 

Another objection to the doctrine of recognition which has 
been made by a few writers upon this subject is based on the 
Love centred in idea that in the future world all human love will be 
c/imt. centred in Christ. The joy of the Christian will not 

be caused by seeing parents, or children, or brothers, or sisters, 
or friends, safe from the assaults of sin, and free from sorrow and 
pain forever, but in beholding Christ who is “ the centre and the 
sun of all that life and joy.” One writer, in a religious paper, 
has gone so far as to say that “ all other relationships will be 
swallowed up in this greater relationship which we will all have, 
in Jesus Christ our Lord.” 

This theory appears to be directly opposed to the spirit which 
marked the work of Christ in this world, and to the representa¬ 
tions which the Scriptures give of the conditions which will pre¬ 
vail when His kingdom is fully and forever established. Christ 
came into the world not only to save men, and draw them unto 
Himself, but also to attach them to each other by the cords of a 
pure and self-sacrificing love. He taught that God was the com¬ 
mon Father and that all men were brothers. He required devo¬ 
tion to Himself, it is true, but the evidence of that devotion was, 
in a great measure, to appear in kindly thoughts and helpful 
deeds to men. And time and experience have shown that wher¬ 
ever the love of Christ has been the strongest there the love of 
man has been the purest and the most enduring. Thousands of 
men and women whose souls were filled with love to Christ have 



CHRIST AT THE TOMB 




























































THE LIFE BEYOND 


433 

left the comforts and pleasures of home and in distant fields 
have spent their lives in arduous toil for people whom they would 
never have seen, and in whom they would have had no interest 
if they had not been inspired with this sacred emotion. In all 
the ages of the Christian church the men who have been the 
most devoted to the Master have been the most zealous and self- 
sacrificing workers for the uplifting of men and women as indi¬ 
viduals, and for the promotion of the best interests of society at 
large. It is true that some who have not connected themselves 
with any branch of the church have rendered splendid service 
to their fellows and are justly ranked with the benefactors of the 
race. But this was not because they declined to be classed as 
Christians. They had inherited, or had caught from their sur¬ 
roundings, something of the spirit of Christ. They builded better 
than they knew. 

Now as one of the great principles of the religion of Christ, as 
taught by Himself and as expounded by the Apostles, is the love 
of man growing out of love to God, it is difficult to see how this 
affection for men can be regarded as detracting from what is 
due to Christ. So far as this world is concerned, Christ cer¬ 
tainly did not want all love centred in Himself. He desired 
that His followers should so love each other as to make them 
one, and that they should so love all who were outside of His fold 
as to impel them to put forth the most earnest efforts for their 
salvation. And those to whom Christ left the interests of His 
kingdom on earth taught the same doctrine and labored in the 
same spirit. All men were brothers, though some were astray. 
All possible effort for the salvation of mankind was to be put 
forth, and all who accepted Christ were thereby to become mem¬ 
bers “of the household of the faith.” Henceforth all believers 
were to be “ fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household 
of God.” It seems incredible that all this love to man should 
be required, that such constant and earnest efforts for the wel¬ 
fare of our common humanity here and hereafter should be de¬ 
manded, that those who followed Christ should be so closely 
united for the brief period to which this earthly life is limited, 
and that after all of this toil and devotion these men who have 
loved, and labored, and sacrificed for others, should lose all inter¬ 
est in one another at death. We cannot believe that such a loss 
of affection and interest occurs. Reason and Scripture unite in 

28 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


434 

their indications that the members of the family of Christ and 
the household of faith will be acquainted with each other, and 
will be united by the same loving ties which bound them upon 
earth. 

We hardly need to dwell further upon the evidence which the 
Bible supplies in regard to this special feature of the future life, 
except to glance at the condition of the blessed after the work of 
redemption is completed. When Christ directed the attention 
of His disciples to the unseen world, and the establishment of 
His kingdom therein, He told them of mansions which he would 
prepare for them. He pictured a home in which they would 
dwell in perfect peace. There was no hint that their love was 
to be entirely given to Himself. They must have understood 
that they were to know and love each other there even more 
truly and more completely than they had known and loved each 
other here. And the Apostle John, in his description of the 
abode of the saved, tells of “ a great multitude, which no man 
could number, out of every nation, and of all tribes and peoples 
and tongues,” who are gathered before the throne of God. He 
describes in splendid imagery the great city in which they are to 
dwell, and asserts that into it are to be brought “ the glory and 
the honor of the nations.” He pictures a life of joyful activity. 
There is no intimation that men live apart from each other, or 
that each individual is so absorbed in the worship and contem¬ 
plation of Christ as to be unconscious of the presence of others, 
or indifferent to their happiness. The representation is directly 
contrary to this. There is united worship, and united service. 
There is a clear recognition of the friends of the earthly life and 
of those with whom acquaintance has been formed in the spirit¬ 
ual world. 

It is an appalling idea, and yet it is one which much that we 
see in this world, and that the Scriptures declare, compel us to 
Recognition among entertain, that some members of the human family 
the tost. will fail to enter heaven. Their abode will be vastly 

different, both as to place and character, from that of the saved. 
Will they, like those who have made a better use of their oppor¬ 
tunities here, be able to recognize in their final home those in 
the same realm whom they knew and loved on earth? We 
believe that this question must be answered in the affirmative. 

The argument of personal identity applies just as forcibly in 


THE LIFE BEYOND 


435 

the case of a lost soul as it does in that of one that is saved. 
The man remains himself. He is not and cannot be changed 
into some one else when he dies, or at any period after death. 
Consequently, he must have in the other world the same mental 
and spiritual qualities which made him what he was here. He 
must know himself, and know every one of his former acquaint¬ 
ances whom he meets. 

It is probable, w r e may almost say certain, that in some way 
the souls of those who have been led into evil by others will 
recognize the ones who helped them in the downward way even 
though they may never have met in this world. The author of 
a book, or of any other publication, which leads men away from 
God and causes them to leave the path of honor or virtue is, to 
a certain extent, responsible for the ruin that results therefrom. 
In common with the acquaintances of earth who led others 
astray, such souls will be hated, and doubtless reviled, by those 
whom they ruined here. 

Much more might be said regarding the recognition of each 
other by lost souls, but it does not seem necessary to pursue the 
subject further. If the saved know each other beyond this life, 
as we are sure they do, the lost must have the same power of 
recognition. Wherever it is, and whatever the conditions under 
which it is placed, as long as the soul exists as a personal being 
it must be conscious of its own identity and retain the power of 
recognizing all other souls with which it has had acquaintance 
in the past. 

The doctrine of the recognition of friends after death presents 
some difficulties, but the arguments in its favor are 

°. . . . . The doctrine of 

unanswerable. The perplexities which it involves recognition sus- 
are as nothing when compared with those which 
we should be obliged to face if the opposite view were accepted. 
By reason and by revelation the doctrine is fully sustained. 

We are certainly justified in claiming that whenever and 
wherever they meet after death there will be recognition of 
those who knew each other on earth. The ties of relationship, 
having served their purpose here, will not be fully restored, but 
they will never be forgotten. The true and helpful friendships 
of this world will remain unbroken. And the law of attraction 
which causes the formation of intimate companionships here will 
operate hereafter. Thus the circle of friendship, and that of 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


436 

kindly though perhaps not intimate acquaintanceship, will be 
immeasurably enlarged. Those who are saved will see and 
know the patriarchs and prophets and apostles, the saints and 
the martyrs, and a great multitude of others who in their day and 
generation were valiant in the cause of truth. And the lowly 
ones of earth, who were faithful according to their capacities 
and opportunities, will not be neglected. Their company will 
be sought and their love will be desired. No one will be friend¬ 
less there. But it is reasonable to expect that, next to the Mas¬ 
ter Himself, those who will be dearest to the soul in the new 
home will be the ones who were loved on earth and with whom 
the hopes and the fears, the joys and the sorrows, and the trials 
and the conflicts of life in this present world were shared. 


CHAPTER XXVI 


THE NEW CONDITIONS 

Regarding the conditions of the life of the soul after its sep¬ 
aration from the body but little information can be obtained 
from the Scriptures, and reason alone is not able to Meagre informs 
penetrate the veil which separates those who are liv- tion * 
ing upon the earth from those whom we call dead, though we 
are confident that they are as truly alive as ourselves. But there 
are some things which the Scriptures teach, others which they 
intimate, and reason gives us various hints which will aid us in 
an attempt to gain light upon this subject. Therefore, while 
there are many points of interest upon which no information is 
to be secured, there are others about which we may be able to 
obtain some degree of knowledge. 

We have previously shown that the life of the soul is not 
interrupted by the event of death. We feel fully warranted in 
the assertion that there is no continued loss of con- continued ufe of 
sciousness and no state of inactivity. The Scrip- thesouL 
tures teach that the soul maintains a full, free, vigorous, and 
progressive life. The new conditions fully provide for the con¬ 
stant development of the spiritual being. 

In the next world the soul will bear the stamp of humanity 
which God has impressed upon it here. We have every reason 
to suppose that unless it is destroyed by the virus of „ , 

r Remains human. 

sin, or perishes on account of its separation from 
God, it will remain a human soul. As long as it retains its per¬ 
sonality it must carry the sign and seal of its earthly existence. 

A Sunday-school hymn for children, which was very popular 
a generation ago and which is probably still used in many places, 
commences as follows: — 

“ I want to be an angel, 

And with the angels stand, 

A crown upon my forehead, 

A harp within my hand.” 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


438 

The direct teaching of the hymn is that when children who 
believe in Jesus depart this life they are at once borne by shin¬ 
ing angels to the sky, and immediately become angels them¬ 
selves. The same doctrine has been incorporated into hymns 
designed for older people, and is not infrequently seen in prose 
writings and heard in religious conversation. We believe that 
this idea, which has been so widely diffused, is wholly erroneous. 
Angels are an altogether different class of beings from men. 
We find no warrant in Scripture, and no ground in reason, for 
supposing that any of the human family will ever be transformed 
into angels. Angelic purity is something to be desired, but no 
child and no adult should wish to change its humanity for the 
angelic form or nature. Christ took the human form and died 
for the human race. If there were no other reason, this fact 
should make us more than willing to retain the distinctive char¬ 
acteristics of mankind. 

It has been, and is still to some extent, held that during 
the period between death and the resurrection the soul exists in 
a disembodied state. But in later times the idea has 

Probably has some ..... 

form of organua- been rapidly gaining ground that during this inter¬ 
mediate stage of its life the soul is either clothed 
with a fine, ethereal substance, taken from the physical body at 
death, or is supplied with a body, or with materials from which 
it quickly forms one, as it enters the spiritual realm. It is a 
physiological law that wherever there is life there is organization, 
and it seems far more reasonable that after death a body should 
be provided for those who lived in a bodily form here than it does 
that they should remain in a disembodied state until the resur¬ 
rection. It appears entirely probable that although at death we 
shall be “ unclothed ” in the sense of losing our physical bodies, 
we shall receive other bodies which will, until the resurrection, 
serve us far more efficiently than those which we now have 
answer the demands which we make upon them. 

Athough we believe that death will be a great uplift to the 
soul, we are sure that it does not bring all that life has in store. 

, , Existence is on a higher plane than that of earth, 

but it is still subject to limitations. The condition 
of the good, though unquestionably one of peace and happiness, 
is not the perfect life to which they looked forward while they 
were fighting their spiritual enemies in this world. That, the 


THE LIFE BEYOND 439 

Scriptures assure us, will not be reached until the soul is united 
with its glorified body at the resurrection. 

As to those who have failed to make a proper use of life on 
the earth, we must have the same idea of an incomplete exist¬ 
ence. The soul is separated from the body, and, as is the case 
with the righteous, this condition involves certain limitations. 
But there is something more than this to be noted. While its 
removal from the body may cause the soul to think most seri¬ 
ously upon its needs, and thus raise life to a higher plane than 
it occupied on earth, it must still be a very different quality of 
life from that which the righteous enjoy. The event of death 
does not bring the bad and the good to the same level. The 
character that is formed here, whether it is good or bad, is 
carried into the world beyond. 

That the good will be constantly growing in the love and 
knowledge of God there can be no doubt. Whether the bad 
will be constantly growing worse; will be under some form of 
restraint which will prevent progress in wickedness; or, as some 
have supposed, they will be placed under influences which will 
lead them to repent of sin, and will result in their salvation, 
cannot be affirmed. Each of these theories has its able advo¬ 
cates. We wish we could find scriptural ground for accepting 
the most cheerful view. But if we have read the Bible aright, 
the present life is the only specified time of probation for those 
who have a knowledge of the truth. For those who never hear 
of Christ in this world we believe there will be abundant means 
of salvation in the unseen realm, or else, like those who do not 
reach the age of moral accountability here, they may be saved 
through His merits, though they have no intelligent idea of 
what He has done in their behalf. 

While there will certainly be a wide difference in the experi¬ 
ences of the righteous and the wicked, it can be affirmed that 
through this great intermediate period in the life of Notaatateof 
the soul there is no judicial decision regarding its rewards and 
character. This comes at the close of the Gospel punlshments ' 
dispensation. In some measure the good will be rewarded for 
their faith and fidelity, and the wicked will suffer on account of 
their unbelief and sin; but the happiness and the misery will 
not in any degree proceed from a public announcement of the 
character or deserts of the soul. In His recorded teaching 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


440 

regarding the future life Christ pointed to the judgment as the 
time when each soul would receive its final award. 

One of the effects of death and entrance upon a new life will 
be an unveiling of the soul. In this world there are so many 

duties, and cares, and distractions, that many people 

The soul unveiled. . 11 

fail to obtain any adequate knowledge of themselves. 
They are so absorbed in other things that they seldom give 
serious thought to what should be the real purpose of their 
lives. They do much for their bodies, but they hardly do any¬ 
thing for their souls. Even those who have endeavored to live 
in accordance with the commands of Christ do not know them¬ 
selves as minutely as they should. Thus it will come to pass 
that when the soul enters the spiritual world its real character 
and just deserts will be seen by the soul itself much more per¬ 
fectly than they ever were discerned on earth. Doubtless, too, 
the appearance of the soul will indicate its true nature far more 
clearly than the personal presence ever did here. The appear¬ 
ance of the good and of the evil will be so widely different, and 
that of each will be so sharply defined, that there can be no 
mistake on the part of any one in the estimate of the character 
of any soul. 

It is common to speak of the dead as having passed beyond 
the bounds of time and entered upon eternity. The idea thus 
ne bounds of presented is incorrect. Time is going on just as it 
time ‘ has been passing from the moment of its beginning, 

and just as it will go on until the last great day. Yet, during 
this ceaseless march of time, countless millions of souls have 
been passing into the spiritual world. It was not until the 
closing of the era of earthly things that the Apostle John, in his 
prophetic vision, saw an angel which, “ standing upon the sea 
and upon the earth lifted up his right hand to heaven, and sware 
by Him that liveth for ever and ever, who created the heaven 
and the things that are therein, and the earth and the things 
that are therein, and the sea and the things that are therein, 
that there shall be time no longer.” 

We must, however, admit that time may exist during the 
period between death and the judgment and yet the soul may 
be unconscious of its passing. Indeed, we often see something 
akin to this in the present world. Not infrequently children at 
play lose all idea of time, and adults often become so deeply 


THE LIFE BEYOND 


441 

interested in their work or their studies as to be oblivious of 
their surroundings and take no note of the fleeting hours. But 
this state cannot continue for a long period. The demands of 
the body cannot be indefinitely ignored. After a while weari¬ 
ness of the flesh, or of the brain, will recall the thoughts from 
the most absorbing theme, the highest pleasure, or the most 
enjoyable occupation, and concentrate them upon the needs of 
the physical system. 

In the spiritual world the conditions of life and activity will be 
very different from what they are here. If we have bodies, they 
will be very different from those in which we now abide. If 
we exist as disembodied spirits, or have only shadowy forms, the 
difference between the new life and the old will be still more 
clearly defined. Some have supposed that, under these changed 
conditions, the passing of time would be unnoticed. They have 
thought that the good would be in such perfect peace and con¬ 
tentment that they would have no idea of its onward flow. Thus 
far the theory does not seem to be very unreasonable. But it 
does not at all fit the case of the wicked, whose mental con¬ 
dition must be one of regret and apprehension, if not of positive 
misery. Perhaps there will be no standard of measurement by 
which any of the departed can determine the rate of its pro¬ 
gress, but it seems more probable that both the good and the 
bad will have some means of noting the flight of time. 

There are some who hold that the period between death and 
the resurrection is one in which the soul is isolated from all 
other created beings. There are others who believe 
that the soul remains unconscious. In preceding An act,ue llfe ’ 
pages we have stated our reasons for rejecting these theories. 
We believe that this great period will be one of active and 
efficient effort. The Apostle Paul toiled in season and out of 
season in this world in order to save souls. When he desired 
to depart and be with the Master whom he served with such 
fiery zeal while here we cannot think that he wished to escape 
from active effort in His cause. Neither can we imagine that 
Luther, who was so inspired with the truth and was so de¬ 
voted to Christ as to become a “ whirlwind of energy to work 
without resting in this world,” ceased his labors at death. And 
it does not appear reasonable to suppose that any other Chris¬ 
tian who has been earnest in the service of God while here 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


442 

should at death enter upon a long period during which, so far 
as the progress of the Kingdom of God is concerned, he will be 
idle and useless. 

We believe that the life of the good will be active and plea¬ 
sant and that the work which is performed will be successful. 
Explains Such a belief throws light upon many providences 

providences. which are otherwise wholly inexplicable. Instances 

are common in which men and women with high aims and noble 
purposes, who have spent years of time and made the most 
earnest efforts in fitting themselves for usefulness, have been 
called from earth at the very commencement of the work which 
they had become qualified to perform. We do not believe that 
the event of death cuts off such souls from all means and oppor¬ 
tunities for usefulness. They are removed from the earthly field 
in order that they may carry on their work for God in the spirit¬ 
ual realm. The mother of whom a popular writer tells in one 
of his stories, who was willing that her son should die because 
she was confident that God had “ some grand work ” for him to 
do in the other world, was far wiser than those who think that 
the removal from this world of earnest Christian workers, who 
are in the prime of life and in the midst of success, is something 
so dark and mysterious that no reasonable explanation can be 
suggested. 

It is true that in various places the Scriptures speak of the 
rest upon which the servants of God enter at death. Doubtless 
there will be rest, refreshing and abundant, for all 
the weary ones who have been faithful here. But 
this does not make it certain, or in the least degree probable, 
that life will be upon a dead level of inactivity. Here a change 
of employment, or of the particular line of thought, is restful to 
both body and mind, while long continued inaction is terribly 
wearing and oppressive. It is one of the laws of our being that 
activity is necessary to happiness, and this law will continue in 
force as long as the soul endures. 

In how many forms the activity of the departed soul will be 
manifested, we cannot say. We suppose that they will be far 

Forms of activity ^ ess var * ec ^ th an will be those of the perfected life of 
heaven. But that prayer and praise will be offered 
to God may be regarded as certain. And there will, doubtless, 
be many souls which need comfort, and still larger numbers who 


THE LIFE BEYOND 


443 

will require instruction and guidance. Those who are far 
advanced will aid those who have made less progress in the 
Christian life, and each and all will be helpful as opportunity 
offers. 

There is an interesting question which often comes to thought¬ 
ful minds, regarding the great multitude of undeveloped souls 
which enter the unseen world. Under what con- undeveloped 
ditions will they be placed? Great numbers of 80Uls ' 
idiots, feeble-minded persons, and the insane, who have had little 
or no ability or opportunity for acquiring knowledge of spiritual 
things, are constantly passing into the unseen world. By some 
disease or deficiency of the body or of the brain, the proper 
development of such souls is prevented. The instruments with 
which they have been provided for the carrying on of the work 
of life are defective. We believe that these undeveloped souls 
will enter the unseen realm with all of these limitations removed. 
They must, of necessity, commence the new life with a very 
inferior equipment as compared with that of souls which were 
more fortunately situated here, and which have become strong 
and cultured by discipline and experience. But we believe that 
they will have loving and efficient teachers, under whom they 
will make rapid progress. Life will hold out to them the same 
opportunities for good, and bring to them the same means of 
happiness, that others have already received. They start a little 
later in the race, but from the moment of their entrance into the 
new life their course is as free, and their progress will be as easy 
and as rapid, as it is in the cases of the relatives and compan¬ 
ions who watched over and cared for them while they were 
incapacitated here. 

Closely allied to the subject just noted is that of the condition 
of those who pass away from earth in infancy, or early childhood. 
Countless numbers of parents have laid the forms 
of their little children in the grave. For these dear The l,ttle chlldren - 
ones they mourn as long as life continues. As they look back¬ 
ward they remember their treasures as they were while here on 
earth, and they also think, ofttimes with unutterable sorrow, of 
what “ might have been ” if the lives that were so soon cut 
off had been prolonged. And so it will be until time shall end. 
In spite of all that can be done by a better understanding of 
the laws of health, and a closer compliance therewith, children 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


444 

will die and the hearts of their parents will be left sad and des¬ 
olate. 

In a previous chapter we have stated our belief that the dif¬ 
ferences in age which are known in this world will be continued 
in the future life. As compared with their elders, children will 
remain children forever. But there will be a constant and rapid 
development of the mental powers, and a ceaseless progress in 
the knowledge of spiritual things. That these souls are happy 
is beyond a doubt. That wise and loving teachers are provided 
for them may also be regarded as certain. To all who have lost 
little ones the following comforting sentiment from the writings 
of Bossuet, a celebrated French preacher and author, is to be 
commended: “ I love to think of my little children whom God 
has called to Himself as away at school — at the best school in 
the universe, under the best teachers, learning the best things, 
in the best possible manner.” We are sure that such children 
are safe from evil, and that they are under the most favorable 
conditions for the growth and development of their spiritual 
natures. 

Another point of great interest concerns the social relations 
of people to each other in the spiritual realm. We have en¬ 
deavored to show that the departed soul has as defi- 
organuedsociety. n j te a pl ace as it had on earth, and that its life is 

vigorous and active. If these conclusions are correct we must 
believe that there is, in the world which we enter at death, some 
form of organized society. We can hardly imagine that a vast 
number of people could or would desire to live together, or near 
each other, without some definite rules and regulations as to 
their conduct. 

If the soul is active after death it must have relations to other 
souls as well as to God. In order that these relations may be 
clearly defined, and that the duties which they involve may be 
faithfully and unremittingly performed, it seems necessary that 
there should be something equivalent at least to some of the 
organizations with which we are familiar here. The soul of the 
Christian leaves the church on earth, and it is only natural to 
suppose that, for its own good, for the benefit of other Chris¬ 
tians, and for the glory of God, it should join another church 
when it enters the spiritual realm. Then, too, all the good who 
pass beyond the scenes of time will want to be useful, and it is 


THE LIFE BEYOND 


445 

reasonable to suppose that in the new home, as in the one upon 
earth, organization will add wonderfully to the efficiency of 
effort. 

Whether the good and the bad will mingle with each other 
as freely in the unseen world as they do upon earth is a question 
upon which there is a great difference of opinion. T he good and the 
There are many who hold that at death all souls, bad * 
without regard to character, pass into a single abode. Probably 
the majority of those who take this view also believe that the 
Gospel dispensation does not close until the judgment, and that 
the efforts that will be made after death for the salvation of souls 
which did not repent while upon earth will be far more effective 
than were those which were put forth here. 

Many others believe that at death there will be an immediate 
separation of the bad from the good. They think that before 
the coming of Christ, and His preaching of the Gospel to “ the 
spirits in prison,” it is probable that all souls were gathered into 
a single realm. But since Christ delivered those who believed 
on Him there, and led them to a better world, different abodes 
may have been provided for souls of different characters. Still, 
it is not at all impossible that the parting of His friends and 
His enemies will not be made until, in the presence of the 
assembled universe, they are separated at the judgment day. 

It is not to be supposed that the souls of the good, or those 
of the evil, provided the two classes are separated at death, will 
be crowded into any small area. There will be 
plenty of room for all. The astronomer has a slight Avastdomaln ‘ 
idea of the immensity of what he knows as space, but his mind 
is hardly able to comprehend the extent of even this little frag¬ 
ment of the universe with which he has become acquainted. 
Yet in addition to all this there are the best of reasons for sup¬ 
posing that there are boundless regions which lie beyond the 
utmost range of his imagination. 

In this world, when travelers go abroad, some land at one 
port and some at another, as choice or necessity may determine. 
It is true that the departing soul cannot choose what port of 
the spiritual realm it will enter, but we believe that it will be 
accompanied and guided by some special messengers of God — 
perhaps by dear ones who have preceded it to the unseen world. 
The haven at which it arrives will be just the one which God 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


446 

desired that it should reach. And there is no doubt that from 
this point each soul will be conducted to some part of the great 
domain which will be suited to his needs. 

Probably the unseen universe is as diversified as is the one 
that is seen and known by the bodily senses. Its inhabitants 
may be separated, as are those of this world, by oceans, by conti¬ 
nents, or by almost impassable ranges of mountains. This great 
domain may not be material in the same sense that the earth is 
formed of matter, but it will doubtless be as real and as sub¬ 
stantial as is the present world. 


CHAPTER XXVII 


MUTUAL REMEMBRANCE AND HELPFULNESS 

No one can make an extended study of the probable condi¬ 
tions of life beyond the grave without becoming deeply interested 
in the question whether those whom we call dead Doe s interest con- 
retain their interest in the friends whom they have tinue? 
left behind, and in the affairs of the world in which they once 
had their home. We cannot doubt their unwavering fidelity, 
but we wonder whether the character of their life is such that 
they clearly remember us, and if their love continues unchanged. 
We also desire to know if they are conscious of the circum¬ 
stances of our daily lives, are aware of the progress of events 
in the communities in which they formerly lived, and, in a more 
general way, if they are cognizant of what occurs throughout 
the world. Then, too, our love goes out to them with an even 
stronger current than it did while they were here, and we ask if 
it is possible for us to do anything that will be helpful to them. 

If we were to confine our attention to what occurred when 
our friends were here upon earth, there would be no difficulty. 
We have presented ample proofs that death does 

. A A A . Certain as to the 

not interrupt the progress of conscious life and period spent upon 
does not make any radical change in the mental or 
spiritual nature of the person who dies. Consequently we feel 
fully justified in asserting that memory continues. Both reason 
and Scripture lead us to suppose that it is in active exercise. 
This being the case, it follows that the inhabitants of the 
spiritual world must, sometimes at least, think of the friends 
from whom they have been parted by death. They must also 
remember many of the things with which they had to do while 
they were here. 

Thus far we can go with full assurance. But when we pro¬ 
ject our inquiry beyond this point we find that very much 
depends upon the degree of knowledge which the departed 
possess, and we have no means of knowing just how far this 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


448 

knowledge extends. We can affirm that they remember us, the 
relations which we sustained to them, and the experiences in 
which we were both interested while we were together here 
upon earth. And we may be sure that if they are aware of our 
present condition and wants they are just as fully alive to our 
needs and as keenly interested in all that pertains to our welfare 
as they ever have been. How far they are interested in our 
daily lives is merely a question of the extent of their knowledge 
regarding the affairs of the world from which their visible pre¬ 
sence has departed. 

A very large number of Christian people believe that all 
knowledge of what occurs on earth ceases at death. This idea 
is based on various grounds, such as the supposed 

Knowledge of » . . , , 

earth may cease want of a medium of communication caused by a 
loss of the physical senses at death; the engross¬ 
ment of the soul in the new interests which centre in the world 
to which the departed have gone; and the fear that if they 
knew all that concerns their friends now upon earth those who 
have entered the unseen world would be in a constant state of 
anxiety and unhappiness, which would not only cause them 
pain, but would also unfit them for the duties of the state in 
which they are living and of the place in which they have their 
home. 

Neither of the reasons which have been stated nor others of a 
somewhat similar nature, but of minor importance, appear to be 
conclusive. The claim that the departed have entered 

Reasons for such . A .... 

a belief insuf- a realm in which they live as pure spirits is based 
upon a supposition on the part of those by whom it 
is made. It is not certainly known by any inhabitants of this 
world that they are disembodied spirits. In preceding pages 
we have endeavored to show that there Is a strong probability 
that the departed have some form of an organization. If this 
view is correct, it is neither impossible nor improbable that they 
have not only the necessary powers, but also the means of so 
exercising those powers, that they can note events which take 
place upon the earth. 

The idea that the soul is so absorbed in its new interests that 
it has no desire or opportunity to think of the world from which 
it came has no basis except that of pure imagination. We do 
not believe it is possible that our friends will forget us when they 



CHRIST AND TWO DISCIPLES ON THE WAY TO EMMAUS. 


























































































































































* 






THE LIFE BEYOND 


449 

reach a happier place than the one in which we abide. The per¬ 
son who has died has carried his affections into the unseen 
world. They are a part of himself, and he could not, if he 
would, free himself from them. He does not forget, and God 
does not wish him to forget, a single friend. The soul that has 
reached a better home is not so engrossed in its own happiness, 
and in the beauty and glory of its surroundings, as to be indif¬ 
ferent to the well-being of the loved ones who were left behind 
when the separation by death occurred. 

The claim that if our departed friends knew of our present 
condition, our troubles, and our sins, they would be made un- 
happy thereby, is not as important as it at first glance appears. 
Some have met this objection to their continued knowledge by 
the theory that in the spiritual world, which is the home of the 
saved, the memory is under partial control, and that by an act of 
the will all unpleasant thoughts can be banished from the mind. 
According to this theory the departed have a general knowledge 
of our affairs, and yet are not aware of our trials and our con¬ 
flicts. We cannot accept this view. If they know of us at all, 
they know of us as we are. They know of the evil that so 
often crops out from within us, and of that which assails us 
from without, as well as of the good which we cherish in our 
hearts and which comes to us in our daily lives. 

A far higher conception than that of the partial control of 
the memory, and one which we believe to be true, is that if our 
friends are aware of our sorrows and our conflicts, they are 
enabled by the power and the grace of God to see that the dis¬ 
cipline through which we are passing is necessary, and is 
designed to work out for us the greatest possible good. They 
may sympathize with us, even as Christ sympathizes with 
those who follow Him, and yet, like Him, may be happy. 

We confidently claim that in the case of the good, death 
raises the soul to a higher plane of existence than the one upon 
which it lived while it was connected with the body. Dormant powers 
And so far as purely spiritual matters are con- ” r ay J°Z c s kened ' 
cerned, the same thing may be predicated of the bestowed - 
wicked, for they will certainly think more of their relation to 
God than they did while they were in this world. The life of 
the former will be one of growth and improvement. This can¬ 
not be affirmed regarding the latter. But we are willing to 
29 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


450 

admit the probability that both classes of persons are endowed 
with powers which, in the great majority of cases, remain 
dormant as long as their possessors are in this world, but 
which may be of great efficiency after death. Then, too, it 
may be that new powers will be given to the soul, or we may 
believe, as an excellent theological writer , 1 from whom we have 
several times quoted, has suggested, it is possible that “the 
dead possess some organization through which they can act 
upon, and be acted upon, by the material world. We know too 
little of the nature of the spirit to speak dogmatically upon a 
point so imperfectly treated in the Bible.’’ While dogmatism 
is to be avoided, we think the suggestion is reasonable, and is 
worthy of a somewhat more pronounced statement than is made 
in the above extract. 

Upon the other means which the departed may have of 
acquiring a knowledge of this world, various writers have ex¬ 
pressed widely differing views. Some of these are 

Other means of r ... J . 0 .. f . „ . 

acquiring infor- so trivial as to hardly call for notice. But others 
are of sufficient importance to deserve serious con¬ 
sideration. 

Many people have supposed that the dead have the power of 
seeing us, as persons from the top of a high building can see 
those who are on the ground below, or as men see through open 
doors and windows the people who are within the houses which 
they pass. Others think that the righteous dead obtain infor¬ 
mation regarding their friends through direct communication 
with God who knows all of their circumstances and desires. 
Not a few who have never formulated such a belief cherish a 
vague hope that in hours of severe trial the dear ones who have 
passed on to the better world are near to sympathize with and 
to comfort them with their presence, which is real though un¬ 
seen. Probably a still larger number hope that in the hour of 
death some loved one from the other world will be present to 
allay their fears and to lead the way to the new home of the 
soul. If such activities as these are permitted it is certain that 
the departed know something of their relatives and friends who 
remain upon earth. They may not have a constant knowledge, 
but by some divine impulse, or by the direction of some hea¬ 
venly messenger, they may be sent to minister to the living or 

1 Lewis French Stearns, Present Day Theology . 


THE LIFE BEYOND 


451 


to the dying in the time of their greatest need. There are 
many things, some of which have been noted in preceding 
pages, which strongly support this view. 

If consciousness persists after death, and people who were 
acquainted in this world recognize each other in the unseen 
world, as we have endeavored to show is the case, we are fully 
justified in assuming that as souls pass into the unseen world 
they carry to those whom they meet information concerning 
mutual acquaintances and friends who remain behind. This is 
not a distinctively Christian idea, though it is held by large 
numbers of the believers in Christ. The Druids, and members 
of races or tribes of a still earlier period, as well as some of a 
later date, had a custom of sending by the dying messages to 
friends who had previously entered the unseen world. It is, 
however, eminently fitting that the idea of a continued interest 
on the part of the deceased regarding their friends who still 
remain upon earth should be clearly indicated in the Christian 
system. 

Another reason for believing that interest in the affairs of 
this world does not cease at death, though it does not show how 
any new knowledge can be obtained, is to be found Christian 
in the widely accepted doctrine of Christian fellow- f e,lowshi f>- 
ship. When two believers, who have long been close friends as 
well as devoted Christians, are parted by death, we can hardly 
think that an entire separation has been effected. While here 
they were the servants of one Master, and now, though one of 
them has departed, both are still in the same service. It has 
seemed to some that this separation by death is calculated to 
cause a closer and a more spiritual fellowship than can be de¬ 
veloped while both parties remain in this world. 

In urging his readers to put forth their most earnest efforts 
to secure the prize which God has offered to all who faithfully 
strive therefor, the author of the Epistle to the He- , nterested 
brews speaks of a great “cloud of witnesses” by u,itnesses - 
whom they were encompassed and who were evidently watching 
their efforts with the deepest interest. It is probable that such 
an assemblage of witnesses are constantly watching the progress 
of the kingdom of God on earth. They note every movement 
of the great battle that is going on between sin and righteous¬ 
ness. They rejoice in every victory, and, though there is doubt- 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


452 

less regret when the forces of evil prevail, it is softened by the 
knowledge that it is only a temporary triumph, that the contest 
is nearly over, and that the ultimate establishment of the right 
is fully assured. 

It may be claimed that this great assemblage of sinless beings 
who, from some point unknown to us, are deeply interested wit¬ 
nesses of the fearful conflict which is now going on in the world, 
have their attention centred upon the great tragedy as a whole, 
and that they have no particular interest in any of the individual 
men and women who are taking part in the fray. Some believe 
that no one who has ever lived in this world has a place in that 
vast throng. They hold that for wise reasons all human souls 
are excluded, but that angels and other spiritual beings, of per¬ 
haps many different orders, are present in countless numbers. 
We have no doubt that such beings are watching the progress 
of events as they affect the advancement of the cause of Christ 
in this world. Naturally they would consider the conflict as a 
whole, and would have no special regard for particular individ¬ 
uals. But while there may not be sufficient evidence to prove 
that this is the case, we do not feel that the lines should be so 
closely drawn. We are inclined to think that at times the 
departed who were dear to us while they were here are mem¬ 
bers of that great number of beings who view the conflict, and 
that they are most deeply interested in the manner in which we 
are bearing our part in the strife. 

Another subject of great interest, growing out of the relations 
of the dead and the living, is that of personal communication. 
personal If it could be shown that the dead were cognizant of 

communication. our a ff a i rs ft would still remain true that we know 
but comparatively little of theirs, and it would not prove anything 
concerning the possibility of establishing communication with 
them. Many savage and barbarous tribes have thought that the 
soul did not perish at death. Some of these peoples have be¬ 
lieved that dreams were caused by the presence of souls which 
visited the dreamer during sleep. The ripple of the brook and 
the sound of the waving leaves were imagined to be the voices 
of departed souls. It was the custom of one tribe of Indians, 
once in each year, to gather on some eminence and spend a day 
in intercourse with departed friends who came there to meet 
them. And many people of more advanced races, including 


THE LIFE BEYOND 


453 

some eminent scholars in recent times, have held that under 
certain circumstances and to a limited extent it is possible to 
hold communication with the dead. 

Many who believe in the doctrines of what is known as Spirit¬ 
ualism are confident that by the aid of persons who are known 
as mediums, and in some cases directly, conversa- 

*i ' L Spiritualism. 

tions with the dead can be carried on. Many assert 
that they have often received messages from departed friends, 
and not a few declare that they have seen in bodily form persons 
who had died many years before. But other people, equally 
desirous of hearing from their loved ones, have not been satis¬ 
fied that the messages purporting to come from their friends 
were genuine. 

While some of the mediums are undoubtedly honest, there are 
many who are low and vile. We have heard mediums of the 
latter class denounced by able Spiritualistic lecturers, and have 
read very pointed warnings against them in leading Spiritual¬ 
istic papers. One writer, who represents the highest type of 
this belief, and who in many points is in entire harmony with 
the Scriptures, says: “ It is to be at once conceded that there 
is much deliberate and intentional fraud, much unconscious and 
unintentional delusion, under the phase of mediumship ,” 1 though 
she believes that there are honest and successful mediums and 
that, under certain conditions, direct communication with the 
departed is possible. 

We admit that mediums perform many wonderful feats, but 
there are persons who equal most of their performances yet who 
assert that they have no help from outside influences, but bring 
into use only their own skill and dexterity. In the cases of the 
mediums who have had no special training in this direction it is 
fair to presume that they have powers with which people in gen¬ 
eral have not been endowed, or, what is far more probable, that 
these powers are at present in a dormant condition. 

The appearance of ghosts, the mysterious rattling of windows 
and doors, the ringing of bells under peculiar circumstances, 
and various other phenomena which have often been credited to 
spiritual influences, have for many years been carefully investi¬ 
gated by eminent scientists both in this country and Europe. 
We believe that as yet the agency of departed spirits has not 

1 Lillian Whiting, After Her Death. 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


454 

been demonstrated in a single instance. Some of these phe¬ 
nomena are very mysterious. But, judging from what has been 
learned in the past, it is probable that their explanation will be 
found in the working of natural laws rather than in the exercise 
of a supernatural agency. 

Many instances in which communication between the dead 
and the living is said to have occurred, and numerous cases in 
ne evidence which remarkable phenomena were observed, are 
insufficient ver y interesting. But when we consider the nature 
of much that is adduced as proof, the gigantic obstacles to com¬ 
munication between the inhabitants of the two realms, and also 
take into account the vast mass of negative testimony, we must 
say that the evidence does not appear sufficient to establish the 
claim which it is brought forward to support. Possibly the 
spirits of our departed friends may have some means of knowing 
of our affairs and of impressing helpful thoughts upon our minds. 
Possibly, too, they may be cheered by our loving remembrance. 
But we think that direct communication is very seldom, if ever, 
effected, and we cannot understand how a medium who never 
knew any of the parties in interest can, for a certain stipulated 
fee, bring the souls of the departed into such relations with 
their friends who remain here as to enable them to carry on 
conversation, or to either give or receive information of any 
kind. 

It is an undoubted fact that a great many people have, in 
some mysterious manner, been warned of impending danger. 

In many cases the persons so impressed attribute this 

Presentiments. , J ... Jr T r . . 

warning to spiritual agency. Not a few claim that 
the impression has been made by the soul of a departed relative 
or friend. In many instances the presentiment has enabled the 
subject to protect himself against threatened ills and thus pro¬ 
long his life. In others it has served to so turn the thoughts of 
the one impressed as to cause him to prepare for his approach¬ 
ing decease. There have been instances, too, in which it has 
had a great influence upon the last work which the man per¬ 
formed on earth. 

It is said that the requiem which added so much to the fame 

of the great musician, Mozart, was composed while 

Mozart’s requiem. . 0 . . . , . , , 

he was under a strong impression that his earthly life 
was coming to a close. He had been employed by a stranger to 


THE LIFE BEYOND 


455 

compose a requiem in memory of a friend who had recently 
died. Upon this theme he worked with intense devotion day 
and night. He became very ill, but continued his toil until the 
magnificent requiem was completed. He was impressed with 
the belief that the visitor who had engaged him to compose it 
came from another world for the purpose of warning him that 
death was near. He could not be persuaded that it was other¬ 
wise, but insisted that the requiem was for himself and that it 
should be played at his own funeral. It is a singular fact that 
the great composer died before the stranger called for the manu¬ 
script. 

There are many well authenticated cases in which persons 
have impressed their own thoughts upon the minds of others 
who were at a considerable distance. In these in¬ 
stances none of the ordinary means of communica- Telepathy * 
tion were used. Some of these cases are remarkable, almost 
marvelous, but as both parties were upon the earth it does not 
seem necessary to believe that any spiritual agency was con¬ 
cerned. It does, however, oblige us to admit that the range of 
the mental powers is far greater than has usually been sup¬ 
posed. 

In the cases of the vast majority of men the power of “ thought 
transference,” as telepathy is often described, appears to be 
wholly wanting. Yet it is possible that the germ is in every 
human mind. If this supposition is correct, this power belongs 
to the spiritual nature of man and is a part of the equipment for 
the work which his Maker designed that he should perform. As 
it is seldom called into use here, it seems likely that it will be of 
service hereafter. Probably it will be one of the means of com¬ 
munication in the spiritual world when the parties are distant 
from each other. 

While we think that many cases of presentiments, like that 
which we have related of Mozart, are caused by weakness of the 
physical system, there are many others in which some outside 
agency appears to be involved. We have no doubt that, in 
numberless instances, messengers are sent from God to warn 
men of impending danger, to keep them from the paths of vice, 
and to encourage them when despondent. Whether these mes¬ 
sengers are our departed friends we cannot affirm, but we think 
it possible that, in times of our special needs, they may either be 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


456 

near us or else, by means of the power of thought transference, 
they may assure us of their sympathy and love. 

Our questions still remain unanswered. We cannot positively 
assert that our departed friends have a present knowledge of 
Doubtful, yet our affairs, though we are fully assured of their lov- 
hopefui. i n g remembrance and continued interest. Neither 

can we be absolutely sure that the souls of any human beings 
are among the spirits which, we believe, God sends to aid and 
comfort His children in times of special stress and sorrow. But 
we do not dare to affirm, as one able writer has done, that 
“ we have no reason to think that the human inhabitants of 
heaven are now in any way within the range of this world, or 
hover about it at any time or in any form .” 1 It seems to us that 
the following opinion of a well-known writer, from whom we have 
several times quoted, — a writer, too, who was so conservative 
as to say that “ God, for wise reasons, does not allow us to hold 
converse with those who have gone before,” — is more reason¬ 
able, and also more in accordance with the general indications of 
the Scriptures : “ Christianity . . . does not shut us off from the 
comfortable and inspiring hope and assurance that the redeemed, 
who loved us so much while we were still together in the flesh, 
are often near us and are assisting Christ in His high task of 
making all things work together for good to those who love 
God .” 2 

A similar thought was beautifully expressed by Mrs. Harriet 
Beecher Stowe in a poem entitled “ The Other World,” from 
which we quote as follows: — 

‘‘Sweet hearts around us throb and beat, 

Sweet helping hands are stirred, 

And palpitates the veil between 
With breathings almost heard. 

“ The silence, awful, sweet, and calm 
They have no power to break; 

For mortal words are not for them 
To utter or partake.” 

From various points of view we have considered the probable 
can we help our relationship in which those who have been called 
departed friends? awa y n0 w stand to the world at large, and more 
especially to the friends whom they left behind. We ought, 

1 Rev. R. M. Patterson, D. D., Paradise. 

2 Lewis French Stearns, Present Day Theology. 


THE LIFE BEYOND 


457 

also, to consider the relationship in which we stand to them, and 
inquire whether it is possible for us to do anything that will 
promote their welfare or increase their happiness. 

It is plain that, on account of the great change which has 
occurred in their condition, we cannot help our departed friends 
in many ways in which we were formerly able to 
assist them. Yet it maybe that even now we can Chnst,an " u,ng ' 
add to their happiness. If they are still able to keep us in view, 
if they know of our circumstances and, in some measure, can 
read our minds, we can cheer them by raising our own lives to 
the highest possible spiritual plane. Every conquest which we 
make over sin will give them pleasure. Perhaps our yielding to 
temptation will cause them regret. Be this as it may, we should 
so live as not to disappoint those who have, for a season, been 
separated from us by death. If they do not know of us now 
they will see us erelong, and as the mask of the physical body 
is laid aside they will read our characters as they really are. 
This is not the highest motive for Christian living, but it is 
one that perhaps is worthy of more consideration than it usually 
receives. 

There are many who hold that we can render a great service 
to the departed by means of prayer. This belief is held in many 
different forms. Some would limit prayer for the Prayer by andfor 
dead to the heathen, and to those who in nominally the de P arted - 
Christian lands have not had the claims of the real Christ pre¬ 
sented to them. In this number those who have been taught 
false doctrine are included. Others hold that we should pray 
only for those who, though imperfect when they died, left this 
world in a state of grace. In their opinion “ the unbelieving 
and unholy dead ” are not to be the objects of our petitions, as 
they are supposed to have passed beyond the reach of mercy. 
There are, too, many in all, who believe that it is right, and is a 
duty, to pray for all of the dead. But there are multitudes of 
others, including the great majority of the members of some 
large denominations of Christians, who believe that it is useless, 
and that it may be wrong, to offer prayer for those who have 
died. In their opinion the departed “are wholly beyond the 
reach of such means of grace as have been established by Christ 
for living men through the church.” 

It is a somewhat common belief that the righteous dead pray 
29 * 


458 LIFE TRIUMPHANT 

for the friends who remain upon the earth. That they pray for 
the church on earth and for her speedy victory over 

Probability that .. _ 1 . J . . 1 J . 

the dead pray her foes we cannot doubt, brom the highest and 

noblest motives they desire the complete establish¬ 
ment of the kingdom into which no trace of evil can ever enter. 
And it is not impossible that they are stimulated to increased 
earnestness in this work by the fact that they must remain in a 
somewhat imperfect condition until they receive their bodies at 
the resurrection, which will not occur until the close of the pre¬ 
sent dispensation. In certain passages of the Revelation some 
of the saints are described as earnestly praying that the final 
triumph of the cause of Christ may be hastened on. 

While we have full warrant in Scripture for the belief that the 
departed who have died in faith pray for the upbuilding of the 
church and the conversion of the world, we do not have quite as 
definite an assurance that they pray for their particular friends. 
Some quote the case of the rich man who desired of Abraham 
that a messenger might be sent to warn his brothers lest they 
should come to the “place of torment” which he had reached, 
but this evidence is inadmissible, partly because it throws no 
light upon the conduct of the righteous, with whom we now 
have to do, and also because the prayer was wrung from the one 
by whom it was offered by fear and remorse, of which the saved 
have no experience. But while we are obliged to admit that we 
have no definite statement in the Bible to the effect that our 
departed friends pray for us, “ it is natural to suppose that they 
do so pray, and there is nothing in Scripture to conflict with 
such a supposition .” 1 

When we come to consider the other side of our subject we 
find much greater difficulties. The prayers of the departed may 
ought we to pray greatly benefit us, for we are in a state of probation. 
for the dead? jf those who have gone from us are in a similar state 
our prayers might help them. But we do not know that they 
are in such a state. For those who have known their duty while 
here, and have refused to perform it, there seems to be but little 
hope that they can be helped in any such way. We would not 
limit the love of God or the atonement of Christ. We hope that 
multitudes who have neglected the claims of religion have, as 
they reached the line which separates the two worlds, made a 

1 Bishop L. N. Dahle, Life after Death. 


THE LIFE BEYOND 


459 

decisive choice of the right and will be saved. But we dare not 
say that such will be the case. 

In the Scriptures we find very little light upon the subject of 
prayers for the dead. The principal passage which can be 
quoted in favor of the practice is, we believe, the T he scriptures 
reference of the Apostle Paul to Onesiphorus: “ The ailent 
Lord grant unto him to find mercy of the Lord in that day.” 
This, for a proof text, is vague and very unsatisfactory, and many 
writers assert that there is no evidence that the person named 
by the Apostle was dead when the epistle from which these 
words are taken was written. Still, we do not regard this reti¬ 
cence of the Bible as conclusive. Many things which are almost 
universally regarded by Christians as right and desirable are not 
explicitly taught in the Scriptures. The spirit that prompts the 
offering of prayer for the dead is to be commended. The senti¬ 
ment is kindly and the purpose is helpful. But we do not see 
our way clear to accept the conclusions of those who favor the 
practice. 

The custom of praying for the dead was observed, to some 
extent, by the Jews about two centuries before the coming of 
Christ. Some assert that it was quite common in 
His time, and that, though He condemned some of An eaHy custom - 
the doctrines which then prevailed, there is no evidence that He 
disapproved of this practice. In the early church prayers for 
departed friends who had died in the faith were sometimes 
offered. The custom appears to have been more particularly 
observed on the anniversary of the death of those for whom 
prayer was offered, and at communion seasons. In the course 
of time it seems to have developed into the doctrine of purga¬ 
tory, and later into practices, like the sale of indulgences, which 
could not be tolerated in a pure system of Christianity. 

As regarded by the Roman Catholic Church, by which it is 
considered one of the most important features of its religious 
system, and by individual members of other denomi¬ 
nations, purgatory is a place in which souls which urg ° ry ' 
are not fitted to enter heaven, but which have not gone so far 
in sin that return to God is endangered, may, by means of disci¬ 
pline and suffering, expiate their guilt. The doctrine is not 
new. It can be traced far back in the literature of the Hindus. 
As stated therein, all sin must be expiated by suffering on the 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


460 

part of the sinner. The degree of pain would be determined by, 
and accurately adjusted to, the degree of guilt, though it was 
supposed that by means of prayers, and offerings, and good 
deeds by children remaining upon earth, the period which their 
parents had been condemned to suffer might be shortened. 

A somewhat similar belief has, at various times, been held by 
the Persians, the Chinese, the Jews, and various other peoples. 
Traces of it appeared in the early Christian church, but several 
centuries passed before it became established as a powerful 
means of advancing the interests of its officers and increasing 
its revenues. In the sixth century the doctrine had become so 
matured and formulated as to give to “ the representatives of the 
church an almost unlimited power over purgatory.” Its influ¬ 
ence increased until it reached a stage at which, “ from the ninth 
to the sixteenth century, no doctrine was so central, prominent, 
and effective in the common teaching and practice of the church, 
no fear was so widely spread and vividly felt in the bosom of 
Christendom, as the doctrine and the fear of purgatory .” 1 

If the doctrine of purgatory is true, the souls that are under¬ 
going discipline in its realm have a deep interest in the affairs 
of this world, and especially in their relatives and friends who 
remain upon earth, as the latter can do much to mitigate their 
condition. Some, though not all, of the expounders of this doc¬ 
trine claim that the suffering is caused by literal fire. In any 
case there is great pain, and this pain must continue until the 
guilt of the sinner is expiated by his suffering or his soul is re¬ 
leased by the sacrifices of the mass, which are paid for by some 
one interested in his welfare, by fastings and prayers, and good 
works performed on his behalf, by securing the intercessions of 
saints and a transfer of their good works to the credit of the 
soul, or by other means which are prescribed by the Roman 
Catholic Church. 

We do not find such a doctrine in the Scriptures, and we 
believe that its advocates do not claim that it is really supported 
Not a bibikai in what Protestants regard as the canonical books. 
doctrine. The very few passages in the New Testament which 
have been quoted in its behalf do not sustain such a theory as 
purgatory represents. As we read the words of Christ and His 
Apostles we are impressed with the belief that no amount of 

1 William R. Alger, Doctrine of a Future Life . 


THE LIFE BEYOND 


46 I 

suffering on the part of the guilty — no payments for masses, no 
prayers, and no good works by others — can atone for sin. For¬ 
giveness may be secured by faith in Christ, but this faith must 
be exercised by the sinner himself. No one can act for him in 
this respect. 

The leaders of the Reformation condemned the doctrine of 
purgatory in the most emphatic terms, but they were not so 
pronounced in their expression of opinion regarding M the period of 
prayers for the dead. It appears, however, that the the Re f° rmation - 
practice rapidly declined. It is said that at one of the first of 
the imposing funerals which were held in England after the 
Reformation the words of the old form, “ Pray for the soul ” of 
the departed were omitted, and instead the herald proclaimed 
“ Blessed be the King of Eternal Glory, who through His divine 
mercy hath translated the most High, Puissant, and Victorious 
Prince Henry II., late the French King, from this earthly to 
His Heavenly Kingdom.” Many of the Protestant leaders at 
this time, and during several centuries following, seemed to re¬ 
gard prayer for the dead as “both useless and inadmissible,” 
though there were others who looked upon it as a matter of 
little consequence. 

In the Roman Catholic Church the custom of praying for the 
dead is almost universal. In most Protestant denominations it 
is seldom observed in public, though how many of At the present 
their individual members pray for departed friends day - 
no one can tell. In the Protestant Episcopal Church it is more 
common than in other Protestant communions, though it is not 
often made a special public service. In 1897, however, an elabo¬ 
rate service of this kind was held in a prominent church of this 
denomination in one of our large cities. According to the news¬ 
paper report of this solemn observance, “ The Guild of All 
Souls, the object of which is to pray for the dead, and to offer 
masses for the repose of their souls, chanted the vespers of the 
dead.” The subject of the sermon was “ The Holy Souls in 
Purgatory,” and the preacher declared that the living could aid 
these souls “ by prayer, penances, and by the offering up in their 
behalf the holy sacrifices of the altar.” 

It seems evident that we cannot pray for the departed as we 
do for the living. We know so little of their special needs that 
we cannot properly ask for things which under other conditions 


462 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


we might name. But it seems to us that we have a right to 


What Is 
admissible. 


thank God for all that our dear departed ones were 
to us in this life, and to ask that in such place and 
such manner as He sees to be right and best, His mercy, which 
“endureth for ever,” may be granted unto them in most abundant 
measure. 


PART VI 

THE COMING OF THE LORD 


CHAPTER XXVIII 

THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD 

In preceding pages we have endeavored to show that con¬ 
scious existence continues after death. Those who, in common 
language, are spoken of as dead we believe to be The rea , man not 
alive and active. It is a great mistake to think of laidin thegraue ‘ 
them as in their graves. Unless he was buried alive, no man 
was ever covered in the grave. When the body is laid in the 
grave the man himself is elsewhere or he has passed out of exist¬ 
ence. We hold that he still lives. 

It has also been noted that some of the nations of antiquity 
had a dim hope of a continued life in the body after death. Vari¬ 
ous uncivilized races in later times have also had A diuine 
a hope that something akin to the present form of revelation • 
existence would follow the departure of the soul from the pre¬ 
sent world. But the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead 
has never been clearly defined and fully believed apart from a 
divine revelation. It appeared dimly in the Old Testament and 
in the Apocrypha, and was held by many of the Jews in the 
time of Christ. There had been hopes, and surmises, but no 
approach to an unqualified declaration of the truth of the doc¬ 
trine until it was revealed by the Creator. 

Christ claimed to be able to raise the dead. In several in¬ 
stances He manifested this power, sometimes in the presence of 
numerous witnesses. He called back to life persons ne claim and 
who had died, and one who had not only died but 
had been buried. These persons, however, came back to the 
old, earthly life, and were still subject to the law of physical 
death. They would be obliged to again pass through the great 



LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


464 

experience which to the vast majority of mortals comes only 
once. But Christ promised His disciples a life which should 
be very different from this, and which should never end. He 
foretold His own death and assured His hearers that He would 
afterward appear to them alive in this world. He gave them 
the promise that, because of their union with Him, they too 
should rise from their graves, that their souls should be joined 
to their glorified bodies, and that thenceforth they were to abide 
with Him forever. He came to save man, body as well as soul, 
from evil. Therefore we must regard His resurrection not only 
as a pledge that those who believe in Him will have an endless 
and a blessed life, but also as constituting a part of His great 
work for the salvation of mankind. 

Many believers in the doctrine of the resurrection have held 
that the “ self-same bodies ” which are buried will be reformed 
Not the identical an d reunited with the souls which formerly occupied 
body * them. This view is inconsistent with science, which 

shows that after burial the body soon decomposes and that in 
the course of time only a small quantity of inorganic material 
remains. Much of the matter of which the body was composed 
has been dissipated in the air, or has entered other combinations. 
Sooner or later plants may appropriate both the organic and the 
inorganic materials, these plants may be consumed by animals, 
and they, in turn, may be used to sustain the life of other crea¬ 
tures. Thus a ceaseless round may distribute the particles of 
the body until they have entered many and widely different 
forms. And so the changes may go on until the elements of 
which a certain human body was composed may be scattered 
over the continents and the oceans of the world. Revelation 
teaches the same doctrine. The idea that we are to have the 
same bodies after the resurrection that we have now is shown 
by the Apostle Paul to be untrue when he declares that it is not 
the same body that is raised, but one of a very different kind. 

The fact that both science and revelation teach that we are 
not to have the identical bodies in the future life which we had 
on earth should not occasion regret. We do not understand 
how people can desire to retain forever the bodies which, in this 
world, often are, and are constantly liable to be, racked by pain, 
wasted by illness, or deformed by accident or disease. It seems 
far better to lay such bodies aside when we die. 


THE FIRST EASTER MORNING. 



\ 

















THE COMING OF THE LORD 


465 


Whatever knowledge we obtain of the nature of the new 
bodies which we are to have in the resurrection must be ac¬ 
quired, either directly or indirectly, from the Scrip- 

J ^ * Information only 

tures. We cannot accept the statements of Spirit- from the 
ualistic mediums who profess to have seen great Scnptures ’ 
numbers of the dead in the bodies which they now have, and 
presumably are to have forever. Neither can we believe, with 
Swedenborg and his followers, that the resurrection immediately 
follows death, the old body disappearing and the new body, an 
almost perfect counterpart of the other, immediately taking its 
place. Neither is there any other source outside of the Bible 
from which we believe that reliable information upon this point 
can be obtained. 

In their descriptions of the resurrection bodies the Scriptures 
have to do almost entirely with those of the righteous. They 
say but little in respect to the bodies of those who 

J 1 Bodies of the 

are classed with the wicked. That in form the new righteous and 
body will bear some marked resemblance to the one 
which the soul has tenanted upon earth we consider beyond a 
doubt. This likeness is probable because it will facilitate the 
recognition of each other by those who were acquainted while 
here — a doctrine which may be regarded as established beyond 
a doubt. Yet, while in some respect similar, the bodies of the 
righteous will be immeasurably superior to those which they had 
on earth. The Apostle Paul speaks of them as being in the 
likeness of the glorified body of Christ. The new body will be 
incorruptible. No sickness will ever affiict it, no accident can 
ever cause it injury, and it will never be subject to pain. The 
natural laws to which our earthly bodies are subject will either 
be abrogated after the resurrection or the bodies which are then 
received will be superior to them. They will be fully adapted to 
the kind of life that is to be lived and to the conditions under 
which it is to be continued. The bodies of the wicked, also, 
will doubtless be of such form and nature as to enable them to 
serve the purposes for which they were designed. 

That the resurrection of the dead is such a stupendous event 
as almost to surpass belief cannot be denied. And yet it is not 
as great a mystery as the creation of life. It is much AstU p end 0 u S 
easier to think that life can go on in a bodily form event 
after a break in its continuity caused by death than it is to con- 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


466 

ceive of its beginning. The great miracle is not in the continu¬ 
ance of existence but in the appearance of life at all Yet it is 
plain to all that at some point in the history of the universe life 
commenced. The resurrection is the persistence of a process 
which, so far as its form is concerned, has been interrupted. The 
creation was something wholly new. 

When Christ rose from the dead there were some who denied 
the reality of His appearance. From that time to this there 
proof of the resur- have been doubters, but they have been compara- 
rection of Christ. ti v dy few, and as knowledge has increased and the 
circumstances have been more carefully investigated and the 
evidences have been more closely scrutinized, their number has 
decreased. Proofs that Christ actually rose from the dead are 
incontestable. He was publicly crucified. The fact of His 
death was made doubly sure by the spear-thrust of a Roman 
soldier. Then His body was placed in a tomb which was closed 
and sealed, and over which a military guard was stationed. And 
yet the body which this tomb had contained mysteriously disap¬ 
peared. The only means by which His enemies appear to have 
endeavored to explain this disappearance was the assertion that 
the disciples had stolen the body. This “ tale was too infamous 
for credence, and too ridiculous for publicity,” and those who 
had tried to spread it soon saw their mistake and endeavored to 
keep the matter as secret as possible. 

The character of Christ should have been, in itself, a sufficient 
answer to every doubt as to the reality of His return from the 
grave. He had promised that He would appear again to His 
disciples. He had been the greatest of benefactors of the race. 
He had lived the purest life — the only perfect life — of any 
man in this world, and it was utterly inconceivable that He 
should have attempted to delude His followers. And His pro¬ 
mises have been fulfilled. In ten different instances He ap¬ 
peared after His death. At one time He came into the presence 
of eleven of His disciples, at another He appeared to twelve, and 
a little later to more than five hundred. Some of these persons 
saw Him several times during the forty days which He passed 
upon the earth after His resurrection. It would have been 
utterly impossible even for the most accomplished deceiver to 
appear so often, in such public places, and in the presence of so 
many witnesses, and yet retain the confidence of those whom he 


THE COMING OF THE LORD 


467 

desired to attach to himself. There can be no possible doubt 
that Christ returned to this world in bodily form after the sepa¬ 
ration of His soul and body by death. 

The moral effect of the return of Christ from the dead was 
such as to prove most convincing to all who had considered His 
claims. Before His crucifixion even the disciples T he effect upon 
who had followed Him most closely were weak and Hls disciples - 
faltering. In the supreme hour of His trial they each and all 
deserted Him. They believed that His death was the utter ruin 
of His and their hopes, and that everything connected with His 
cause had been utterly destroyed. But after His resurrection 
these men who had proved so weak and vacillating, who had 
given up everything for lost and returned to their fishing boats, 
became the bravest of the brave. They went from place to 
place, endured persecution, imprisonment, beatings, and abuse 
of every kind; yet wherever they tarried, even for the shortest 
period, they preached Jesus Christ and boldly proclaimed His 
resurrection from the dead. And thus they continued to preach 
and to teach until their earthly lives came to a close. 

The superiority of the soul to the body has been dwelt upon 
in preceding chapters. It has been shown that the body is the 
instrument of the soul during the life of man in this Why a resunec . 
world. Yet though of secondary, it is of great, impor- tion is re ^ uired - 
tance. It is something without which he cannot live in the 
present state of being. Some who have supposed that its main 
purpose is served here have questioned why it should not be 
allowed to perish utterly. But it is evident that the design 
of God was that man, both here and hereafter, should have a 
bodily form. He created man, body and soul, and the redemp¬ 
tive work of Christ has reference to both. 

Concerning the exact time at which the resurrection of the 
dead will occur there is, among those who fully believe in the 
doctrine, a wide difference of opinion. Probably When the resur- 
the great majority believe that it will take place when rection win occur - 
Christ comes to judge the world. Some hold that there are to 
be two resurrections, one of which affects only the righteous, 
and is to occur at the advent of Christ and the establishment of 
His millennial kingdom. Others do not regard the resurrection 
as taking place at some set time, but consider it a progressive 
event which commences immediately after death and proceeds 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


468 

to completion with greater or lesser rapidity, according to the 
character of the soul and the degree of effort which it had made 
to perform its duty in this world. 

Whether the resurrection immediately follows death, or is 
deferred for an indefinite period, it is certain that it will be 
How it win be effected by the power of Jesus Christ. Many have 
accomplished. fazt the resurrection will be universal; but 

there are some who claim that it will not extend to the wicked, 
whom they believe will utterly perish at death. Others have 
thought that they will be raised from the dead and, either imme¬ 
diately or after having endured a sufficient degree of punish¬ 
ment for their sins, be forever destroyed. 

It is true that there can be no good life, no life that is rich 
and full, and that can satisfy the soul, apart from Christ, and 
that the soul that is separated from Him may be properly 
spoken of as dead even while it lives in this world. Still, we 
cannot believe that on this account the soul will perish when it 
leaves the body. Christ stands in such a relation to every 
human being as to insure the reunion of its soul and body after 
death. He died for every member of the human race, and 
because of His death, and the relations established thereby 
between God and man, it is both fitting and necessary that all 
men should rise from the dead. 

Whether the resurrection of the dead will be simultaneous 
or progressive, it may be said to occur at a definite time, for, 

even if progressive, it will reach a culmination in an 

A definite time. ?• , , , 

event which will be accompanied by the most impos¬ 
ing manifestations. That all souls will wait for their bodies 
until this time we are not certain. But there is something of 
solemn significance in the statement of Christ that those who 
are then alive shall “ see the Son of Man coming on the clouds 
of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send forth 
his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall 
gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of 
heaven to the other.” If, as some assume, there is in this 
description something of Oriental imagery, we may be certain 
that there will be a great culmination which, in all respects, will 
fully answer the New Testament representations of the coming 
of the Lord and a general resurrection. 

It is a mistake to suppose, as many have done, that the new 


THE COMING OF THE LORD 


469 

body will be immaterial. That it will be of a much higher 
nature, and have vastly greater powers than the pre- The change which 
sent body, there can be no doubt. Indeed, its quality wllloccur - 
will be so far superior to the earthly body that it may properly 
be called spiritual. The Apostle Paul teaches that this spirit¬ 
ual body will present a very different appearance from the one 
which was occupied by the soul before death, when he says, 
“ As we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear 
the image of the heavenly.” The resurrection is that of the per¬ 
son, not that of the material body which he tenanted before he 
died. Those who are alive at the coming of Christ will, it is 
said, be changed, a fact which strongly supports the doctrine 
that the identical bodies which were used upon earth will not 
be restored. 

While it is a different body which appears in the resurrection 
state, it will certainly be a body which has a very close connec¬ 
tion, and an element of continuity, with the one that is laid in 
the grave. It will be wonderfully improved, yet will so closely 
resemble the earthly body as to continue the identity of the 
person and make it to all intents and purposes his own body. 
This body will, in every way, be adapted to his needs, and will 
have a vital connection with the soul. It is a part of the man 
himself, but in all considerations of the resurrection it is the 
individual, and not the body that was used on earth, that is 
to be regarded as of the principal importance. 


CHAPTER XXIX 


THE FINAL JUDGMENT 

It has been a common belief among mankind that at some 
future time there would be passed upon the deeds done in the 
A general expec- body a judgment by a superior power from the de- 
tanon. cision of which it would be impossible to escape. 

The ancient Egyptians looked forward to a minute and impar¬ 
tial judgment after death. Elaborate representations of this 
judgment are pictured upon the interior walls of many of their 
massive tombs. All the actions of the dead were believed to be 
weighed in the balance before the great god Osiris, and the 
destiny of the soul was determined by the result of this judicial 
test. The Greeks, Parsees, Mohammedans, and numerous peo¬ 
ples of other nationalities and of other forms of faith were fully 
convinced that after death there would be a solemn review of all 
the deeds of the present life and that the final destiny of the 
soul would then and there be revealed. 

In the Christian system of religion, the one with which we 
especially have to do, the idea of the judgment has always been a 
very prominent doctrine. In the Old Dispensation, 

A prominent doc - J A A 

trine of Christian- too, which the present system followed, and out of 
which it largely grew, there was an emphatic and often 
reiterated proclamation of a judgment upon the lives and deeds 
of men. In the earlier ages, however, the penalties of sin were 
largely of a temporal nature. Prosperity was held up as the 
reward of obedience, and adversity was threatened as the punish¬ 
ment of violation of the Divine law. And it is a fact with which 
every careful reader of history is familiar, that during this period 
many and terrible judgments were inflicted upon the Jews and 
also upon various other peoples which insolently and persist¬ 
ently trampled upon the principles of truth and righteousness. 

With the coming of Christ there was a clearer and fuller 
manifestation of the character of God. Men were urged to seek 
a higher plane of life. They were taught that the material and 


THE COMING OF THE LORD 


471 

the temporal should be largely superseded by the spiritual and 
the eternal. In the New Testament the idea of a judgment 
which was not to occur in the present but which should take 
place at some future period and in some locality unknown to 
mortals was, almost at the beginning, brought into prominence, 
and it was kept in view until the sacred canon was complete. 
In the twenty-fifth chapter of the Gospel according to Saint 
Matthew we have, in the words of Christ Himself, a vivid de¬ 
scription of the last judgment In the twentieth chapter of the 
Revelation of Saint John, the Apostle tells of his magnificent 
vision of the resurrection of the dead and of the judgment which 
immediately followed. Numerous other references by Christ, 
and by the writers of the various books of the New Testament, 
were also made to this judgment which awaits the individual 
and the race. 

Christ not only described the scenes of the coming judgment 
in the most solemn and impressive manner, but He also empha¬ 
sized the fact that the day upon which it should 

J 1 * The great day. 

occur would be the day of all days for mankind. He 
repeatedly spoke of it as “ that day,” thus setting it apart from 
all other days in its importance. There have been some at¬ 
tempts to modify this doctrine, but the apparent teaching cer¬ 
tainly is that when that day shall come time will cease and an 
irrevocable decree concerning the destiny of each and every 
member of the human race will be proclaimed. 

The passages of Scripture relating to the judgment have been 
variously interpreted and several theories have been formed. 
Probably a larger number than those who accept v theorie8 
any other view expect that the judgment will imme¬ 
diately follow the resurrection and will be the final act in the 
history of the world. Many believe that the soul is judged as 
soon as it enters the unseen realm. This, because they suppose 
from what the Scriptures tell us regarding Moses and Elijah, 
from the narrative of the rich man and Lazarus, and from 
numerous other statements and intimations, that to some extent 
both the good and the bad enter upon conditions of reward or 
punishment immediately after death, and it is hardly to be ex¬ 
pected that after enjoying its reward or suffering its punishment 
for a long period the soul is to be brought before its judge for 
acquittal or condemnation. 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


472 

Then, too, there are many who hold that during the period 
between death and the judgment vast numbers of souls which 
had rejected Christ on earth will become His loving subjects. 
They also believe that those who followed Christ on earth will 
during this time make great advances in the divine life. There¬ 
fore they believe that the judgment will be deferred until the 
close of the present dispensation. For, if their inferences are 
correct, what would be fair if the soul were judged at death 
would be manifestly unjust at a later period in its history. 

There are some who hold the theory that judgment com¬ 
mences here and is in constant progress from the point at which 
moral accountability begins. Day by day the conduct of the 
individual goes to make up the character which he is forming. 
His acquaintances judge him, and his conscience judges him, 
according to what he does or fails to do. “ Every day is a judg¬ 
ment day ” to some extent, but no one fully knows the character 
of another, and the full measure of its deserts is never known in 
this world by the soul itself. Therefore its own judgment must 
be of the most imperfect kind and must be supplemented by 
one in future in which the judge is both impartial and all-wise. 

The biblical descriptions of the judgment are by many held to 
be very largely figurative. The scenic wonders, the visible ap¬ 
pearance of Christ in the heavens with a multitude 

Biblical descrip- A # 

tions figurative or of angels, the gathering of all the countless millions 
of the members of the human family from the be¬ 
ginning of the race to the end of time at some particular spot, 
and the public announcement of the justification or condemna¬ 
tion of each individual, they hold make a vivid Oriental picture, 
rather than a literal description, of what is to occur when the 
final awards shall be made and the good and the wicked shall 
be forever separated. It is possible that the scene is highly 
colored, but when we consider the solemnity with which the 
subject was treated by Christ, and throughout the New Testa¬ 
ment wherever reference to it is made, and remember the tre¬ 
mendous issues which then reach a final determination, we 
incline to the belief that the descriptions in the Bible have not 
been overdrawn. 

In the description by the Apostle John of the resurrection 
and judgment we read that “ books were opened ” and that “ the 
dead were judged out of the things which were written in the 


THE COMING OF THE LORD 


473 

books, according to their works.” This, of course, is largely im- 
agery. The idea which some have held, that there The judgment 
were real books in which all the thoughts and words b00h8 ‘ 
and deeds of each individual were written down, cannot be enter¬ 
tained for a moment But it is probable that the human soul 
itself is the book, and that upon it everything pertaining to its 
earthly existence is inscribed. 

De Quincey has said that “ no such thing as forgetting is pos¬ 
sible to the mind,” and there are strong reasons for accepting 
his statement. Probably every reader has had flash into the 
mind the recollection of things which had been, as we commonly 
say, “ forgotten ” for many years. People in danger of sudden 
death, but who have escaped with their lives, have asserted that 
in the brief period during which they seemed to be passing away 
from the world the whole panorama of life has unrolled before 
them, and that every thought and deed appeared to be presented 
to the mind. Such instances are altogether too numerous and 
too well authenticated to leave a doubt as to the fact that the 
experiences were not only genuine, but that they were perfectly 
natural. What has occurred in these instances, it is fair to sup¬ 
pose, would occur in any number of other cases in which the 
conditions were similar. 

During His earthly ministry Christ was often asked to decide 
questions upon which there was a difference of opinion on the 
part of those who submitted them. When these 
questions related to the duty of man toward God, or Chr,sttfiejudge ’ 
toward his fellow men, Christ never refused, nor hesitated, to 
give the light desired. But when they had to do with merely 
temporal affairs He invariably declined to interfere. He plainly 
told those who approached Him in matters of this kind that such 
things were wholly foreign to the character of His work on earth, 
but time and again, in the most emphatic manner, He assured 
His hearers that at the last great day He would judge the world. 
And throughout the New Testament He is mentioned as the 
One to whom this great work of judgment had been assigned. 

To those who accept the doctrine that Christ is divine, as well 
as human, there seems an eminent fitness in the fact that He is 
to judge mankind. Knowing as God alone can know Why Chrl8t should 
the wickedness and desert of sin, and as only man Judge - 
can know by experience the strength of the temptations to which 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


474 

the race is exposed and the weakness of our common humanity, 
He is able to judge at once righteously and sympathetically. 
Because He was the “ Son of Man,” and knew the infirmities 
and weakness of our human nature, God made Him the judge 
of men. He knew, and showed to man, precisely what every 
human being should be. He passed through the common expe¬ 
riences of this earthly life, maintaining a perfect character, and 
offering to give all needed assistance to those who would trust 
and follow Him. 

Many representations of the judgment have assumed that, so 
far as the unrighteous are concerned, it will be largely one of 
character of the vengeance. One of the most famous of the large num- 
judgment ber 0 £ p a i n ti n gs of this scene shows Christ in the act 
of pronouncing the curse upon the unrepentant without the least 
expression of pity or compassion upon His countenance. This 
we believe to be a wholly erroneous view. If at last any depart 
from Him they will go as the result of their own choice. While 
upon earth the heart of Christ was filled with love and pity, even 
for those who deliberately refused to become His disciples. As 
He looked upon the Holy City, which He knew was erelong to 
be destroyed, He uttered that memorable lamentation: “ O Jeru¬ 
salem, Jerusalem, which killeth the prophets, and stoneth them 
that are sent unto her! how often would I have gathered thy 
children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under 
her wings, and ye would not! ” And we are assured by the 
author of the Epistle to the Hebrews that “Jesus Christ is the 
same yesterday and to-day, yea and for ever.” That He must 
exclude from His perfected kingdom all who continue in rebel¬ 
lion against Him is clear. But the exclusion will not be arbi¬ 
trary, and it will not be made without regret by the judge. At 
the last day, as well as when He was upon earth, the only reason 
that Christ does not gather all souls unto Himself will be the 
simple one that when they had the opportunity and the invita¬ 
tion to come to Him they “ would not.” 

Many and diverse results of vast importance will flow from 
this great judgment of the world. This tremendous event will 
The results of the close the present dispensation. When its decrees 
judgment are pronounced the Gospel age will come to an end. 
Time will be destroyed and eternity will begin. So far as this 
world is concerned, human history will be closed. The earth 


THE COMING OF THE LORD 


475 

itself will have passed through the last changes, or else these 
transformations will take place in immediate connection with 
the judgment day. The glory of Christ as the Saviour and Re¬ 
deemer of men will be manifested and the kingdom of God will 
be forever established. The ways of God, and all of His deal¬ 
ings with individuals, and with the race, will be fully vindicated, 
and the whole universe will see and acknowledge that in all 
things He has done right. Wickedness, so long defiant, and so 
often victorious, will be forever overthrown, and the kingdom 
of God will be consummated in a magnificent and eternal 
triumph. 

As to the locality in which the final judgment will be held we 
have no definite information. There is, however, 

* ’ Where the judg- 

reason to suppose that the present world will be the mem wm take 
scene of this event. That it will immediately fol- pace ' 
low the general resurrection is clear, but this fact throws no 
light upon the subject of its locality. 

In earlier times it was quite generally believed, and at the 
present day there are many who hold the same theory, that the 
judgment is to occur in the air and during the period in which 
the world is passing through the great changes which it must 
undergo in connection with the mighty events of the last day. 
But from the fact that this world has been the place where man 
has lived, where his character has been formed, and where the 
deeds for which he is to be judged have been committed; and 
also because it was here that He who is to be the judge endured 
the suffering, humiliation, and death which formed a part of 
His redemptive work, — it seems eminently fitting that here, too, 
should be the place of His glorious triumph. 

Concerning the duration of the final judgment we know as 
little as we do regarding the locality in which it is to occur. 
The Mohammedans have sometimes taught that the Duration of the 
day would extend to at least one thousand years. ^ ment 
Sometimes they have lengthened the period to fifty thousand 
years. The fact that the Scriptures refer to it as a day is no 
criterion as to the measure of time which it will require. The 
days of the creation, mentioned in the first chapter of Genesis, 
are now known to have been, not days of twenty-four hours each, 
but days which covered vast periods of time. And there is no 
reason to think, as many have done, that the judgment will be 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


476 

commenced and completed in the measure of time that is 
represented by one of our ordinary days. The Scriptures tell 
us that “one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a 
thousand years as one day.” Consequently, when the term 
“ day ” is used in the Bible we are not required to believe that it 
means just twenty-four hours. Its real meaning is that the 
period which it represents is continuous from beginning to 
end. Whether the judgment is progressive, and is now being 
held, or is to be deferred to the end of the world, it will have 
no break. There will be no adjournment of the court until 
everything pertaining to its work is decided. 

Whether every sin which is committed will be brought to 
light in the day of judgment, and be made known to the assem- 
pubiic exposure bled universe, is a question which has attracted much 
°f sin. attention. Many have taught that this will be the 

case. Various passages of Scripture have been cited in its sup¬ 
port, such as “ God shall bring every work into judgment, with 
every hidden thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil,” 
and others of a similar import. But there are many other pas¬ 
sages which give an altogether different impression. God pro¬ 
mises to “blot out ” the transgressions of His people. He assures 
them that He “will not remember” their sins. In the New 
Testament, as well as in the Old, we are told of those whose 
“ iniquities are forgiven,” and we are assured that if we confess 
our sins God will not only forgive us but will “ cleanse us from 
all unrighteousness.” 

Such assurances certainly justify the belief that all of the 
iniquities of the righteous will not be brought before the public 
gaze. To each individual there will undoubtedly come a clear 
and minute revelation of its real character. Every thought, and 
everything pertaining to its life and deeds, will be remembered. 
Every mask will fall away and, perhaps for the first time in its 
history, the soul will know itself as it is. This will be true of 
the good and of the wicked. But so far as public exposure is 
concerned, except in cases where it is necessary on account of 
the connection of other parties with some evil deed, it is prob¬ 
able that what will appear will be a clear and unmistakable rev¬ 
elation of the general character, either as good or bad, rather 
than a public exhibition of everything which has made the soul 
what it has become. 


THE COMING OF THE LORD 


477 

Whatever the order of the judgment may be, whether it is a 
present and a constant process and will so continue until the 
resurrection, or whether it is to occur either as a The sentence of 
culmination of this process or as an event set for se P aration - 
some specific point of time in the far distant future, we may be 
sure that the sentence that will be pronounced will be one which 
will involve the separation of the wicked from the good. There 
will come a time at which the choices for good or for evil will 
have become so firmly established that separation will be as 
natural as it will be desirable for both parties. And it is 
probable that the command to the wicked to depart from the 
judge, and from those who have been found righteous, will be 
as truly a permission as a decree. They will go to their “ own 
place ” not wholly and not principally because they are obliged 
to do so, but because they will be less miserable there than they 
would be elsewhere — even in heaven. 

It is a very common belief that death is a finality so far as the 
condition of the human soul is concerned. Many, however, 
hold that until the judgment the door of mercy is t a the judgment a 
open, and some believe, or at least hope, that it is finaiity? 
never closed. It seems to us that for those who have the Gos¬ 
pel here and who do not, even in the last moment of life, accept 
Christ as their Saviour, there can be but little hope. And 
we fear that there will be no change of character, and con¬ 
sequently of destiny, after the sentence of the judge has been 
pronounced. Yet we have no doubt that God will receive a 
soul whenever it repents. But it seems to us that there is great 
danger, an almost absolute certainty, that long before the judg¬ 
ment occurs the character of those who die without having been 
reconciled to God will become so fixed that the possibility of 
repentance will have forever passed away. 


CHAPTER XXX 


THE LARGER HOPE 

Many able sermons have been preached, and numerous essays 
and books have been written, to show that probation for all men 
ne limn of is irrevocably closed at death. No matter by what 

probation. influences one had been surrounded, what truths or 
what errors he had been taught, or whether his opportunities to 
secure salvation had been ample or deficient, if he passed out of 
this world without a living union with Jesus Christ his soul was 
lost beyond redemption. There have been periods when this 
doctrine was generally held by the members of large and in¬ 
fluential denominations of Christians, and in recent times it has 
been preached, and it is still proclaimed, from many pulpits. 

Such a doctrine finds support in certain passages of the Scrip¬ 
tures, but it is not in harmony with their teaching as a whole. 
It does not commend itself to the moral sense of mankind, and 
it does not accord with the character of the Creator as it is 
manifested in His works in the visible world. In its behalf 
great stress has been laid upon the fact that God is just. It was 
asserted, though the evidence of the considerable number of 
eminent theologians who made the assertion never indicated 
how such a thing was possible, that God could and would justly 
condemn to endless perdition unnumbered millions of infants, 
and of adults who never heard of Him through whom alone 
salvation can be secured. 

In recent times the number who hold the doctrine that the 
souls of many who die in infancy are lost, and that the proba- 
a modification of tion of all who arrive at the period of moral account- 
doctrine. ability closes at death, has been greatly diminished. 
Men have come to take different views of justice itself, and to 
see that, important as it is, this is only one of many attributes of 
the character of God. Mercy, tenderness, and compassion are 
as fully predicated of Him in the Bible as justice, and, as is often 
shown therein, very often modify that element of His character. 


THE COMING OF THE LORD 479 

As men have dwelt more upon the dealings of God with His 
ancient people, and have studied more carefully the life and 
work, the hopes and desires, and the purposes of Christ in His 
mission to this world, many of them have come to take a much 
broader and more hopeful view than was formerly held of the 
destiny of vast numbers of the human race. The doctrine which 
these men hold is known as “ The Larger Hope,” and also by 
other similar, but somewhat indefinite terms. But there is a 
very wide difference in the form in which it is stated. Some 
claim that the Scriptures, when properly interpreted, not only in 
respect to their language but also as they are illuminated by the 
works and apparent purposes of God as they are revealed in the 
natural world, warrant a far more inclusive hope than others 
feel justified in cherishing. There are those who would be over¬ 
joyed to open the door of hope to its very widest limit, but who 
do not feel that God has authorized them to do so. They feel 
their responsibility as teachers and interpreters of the Word, and 
they are to be honored for holding fast to their convictions. 

We could, if it were desirable, quote a large number of state¬ 
ments from various confessions of faith, and the writings of pro¬ 
minent theologians, to show that the theory that the Wha t the Bible 
infant children of unbelievers, and the heathen at warrants - 
large, pass at death into an endless hell has been very widely 
taught, and has been accepted by the mass of those who form 
the membership of many powerful religious organizations. We 
shall be content to give only two such quotations. “ The scho¬ 
lastic Calvinists of the seventeenth century mounted the Alpine 
heights of eternal decrees with intrepid courage, and reveled in 
the reverential contemplation of the sovereign majesty of God, 
which seemed to require the damnation of the great mass of 
sinners, including untold millions of heathen and infants, for the 
manifestation of his terrible justice .” 1 “The great scriptural 
doctrine that this is the only place of probation to the members 
of our fallen race, and that those who die out of Christ are lost 
forever, sets before our minds an awful view of the destiny that 
awaits the majority of the living generation of our race. ... It 
bids us to keep in mind that the time is short within which 
there can be anything done to save the six hundred millions of 
heathen, and the three or four millions of Mohammedans, and 

1 Rev. Philip S chaff, D. D., The Harmony of the Reformed Confessions. 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


480 

dead formalists, and heartless unbelievers, who are now hasten¬ 
ing to the close of their probationary life without any prepara¬ 
tion for a happy eternity.” 1 

We believe that the Bible warrants a great deal larger and 
broader hope than this. We agree with the great number of 
Bible students, and preachers, and writers, who hold that God 
has made ample provision for the salvation of all who die in 
infancy, and that the heathen will either be saved without a pro¬ 
bation or that they will be given such clear and comprehensive 
views of Christ that they can and will intelligently accept or 
reject Him. For those who have had the full light of the Gos¬ 
pel in this world, and have deliberately rejected the claims of 
Christ, they hold that no clearly defined expectation of final 
salvation can be entertained. Thus far we can go in full sym¬ 
pathy and strong conviction with those who hold this form of 
the doctrine of the Larger Hope. 

There are many who believe in a second, or as it might be 
better expressed, a continued probation, for those who reject 
a continued Christ in this world. They hold that so far as moral 

probation. decisions are concerned death is not a finality. The 

man who had but little light here will have a brighter illumina¬ 
tion of the truth hereafter. Mighty agencies for the spread of 
the Gospel will be in active exercise, and countless numbers who 
failed, or who refused, to come to Christ here will, in the unseen 
realm, become His loving subjects. A large number of those 
who hold this view believe that the possibilities of repentance 
and salvation remain until the judgment. When that great event 
occurs the destiny of the soul will be irrevocably determined. 

There are many others who hold a still broader view. They 
not only believe that the door of mercy stands open forever, but 
A stm broader also hold that active efforts for the salvation of souls 
view ’ will never cease unless there is universal submission 

to the will of God. For those who refuse to yield, the punish¬ 
ment of sin continues. But it is supposed that this punishment, 
together with the other means which are constantly employed 
for the purpose, will at length win every soul, and from that 
point the eternal safety and happiness of every member of the 
human race will be assured. 

1 Rev. Robert W. Patterson, D. D., in A Sermon preached before the American 
Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, in 1859. 


CHRIST OR DIANA ? 



I 























* 
















































































































































THE COMING OF THE LORD 


481 

With the view above stated we cannot agree. This, not be¬ 
cause we do not ardently desire that it may be true, but because 
we do not think it is sustained by the Word of God. Unluersal 
But we do believe in the doctrine of universal re- redem r> tion - 
demption. We believe that Christ died for all, and that His 
salvation is sufficient for every member of the human race. We 
believe that “ God is love,” and that it is His earnest wish that 
every human soul should yield to Him in perfect trust and love, 
and in return receive from Him peace and happiness which will 
know neither measure nor end. 

The facts of the infinite love of God for the human race, of 
the great sacrifice on Calvary, and of the work of the Holy 
Spirit, have led many to believe that His purposes , f GodrM/esth9 
will be fulfilled, that every soul will be saved, that world - 
sin which is so obnoxious to him will disappear, and that the 
utter extinction of evil from the universe will eventually be 
accomplished. Some who hold this theory have gone so far as 
to assert that if these ends are not compassed, and every soul 
of man is not saved, God has created a world which He is un¬ 
able to control. As this alternative is not to be considered, they 
hold that at some period, perhaps in the very far distant future, 
the last wandering soul will be brought back to Him, and that 
the innumerable millions of the human race, not one missing, 
will become citizens in the kingdom of God. 

It is common to speak of God as almighty, yet there are 
things which even He cannot do. He cannot break his pro¬ 
mises, and He cannot do any wrong. And in His The sou , must be 
dealings with unrepentant souls there are certain f reetochoose ’ 
limitations of His power. He has made man free to choose 
good or evil, and this fact He can neither ignore nor change. 
So long as the will of man is in fixed and determined opposition 
to that of his Maker, it is impossible for their relations to be 
peaceful. From the very nature of His character, God cannot 
change. He must forever remain the Ruler of the universe. 
And if man will not yield to Him there is no possible ground 
for reconciliation. “ No man can be saved against his will, 
because salvation is the conformity of his free will to the eternal 
and immutable moral law .” 1 If man were compelled to repent 
of sin and obey his Creator, he would, on account of that com- 

1 Rev. Lyman Abbott, D. D., in That Unknown Country. 

3i 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


482 

pulsion cease to be a free moral agent and become a mere 
machine in the control of a power that was mightier than his 
own. Nothing of this kind can occur. So far as his own per¬ 
sonal salvation is concerned, it is within the power of man to 
thwart the wish and the purpose of Almighty God. 

That as human character is formed it tends to become per¬ 
manent is a matter of common observation. Little by little, as 
character tends to the individual increases in age, the habits of thought 
permanence. an d ac ti on take certain forms which grow more and 
more sharply defined as the days and years go by. In the vast 
majority of cases the character gets its “ bent ” in youth. The 
membership of our churches is very largely recruited from the 
ranks of the young. Philanthropists, too, have found that labor 
among children is vastly more efficient than is work of the same 
nature with adults. Before the character becomes fixed, it is 
comparatively easy to induce a person to vary from his usual 
course. But it is exceedingly difficult to persuade an aged per¬ 
son to make a radical change, because, for a long period, his 
habits have been taking form as the molten iron takes the form 
of the mould, and his character has become almost as inflexible 
as the iron itself. 

Wherever man is found there is always in operation a law 
which causes people of similar tastes, and habits, and desires to 
ne law of associate with each other. In civilized communi- 

assodation. ties c h ur ches, societies, clubs, and various other 

organizations are formed by people who are congenial to each 
other. The man of religious character seeks the church, while 
his neighbor, whose desires are centred on present pleasure 
rather than on God, will find a society whose members have the 
same end in view. And so it is with every grade of character. 
From the purest to the vilest, men seek the companionship of 
others like themselves. 

The facts that character tends to become permanent, and 
Opposed to the doc- that the law of association strongly tends to draw 
'ofVhalacurZfter *h e g°°d and the bad into classes by themselves, are 
death, strongly opposed to the theory that there will be 

repentance after death. The man who rejects the call of God 
until death will enter the next world with just the same char¬ 
acter and disposition that he had here. The man who chooses 
wicked companions here will prefer the same kind of company 


THE COMING OF THE LORD 


483 

in the unseen world. We do not see how death can make the 
slightest difference with men in these respects. So, if we w r ere 
to admit all that those who hold the doctrine of the Larger 
Hope claim as to the door of mercy being left open to all who 
have died unrepentant, we cannot be certain that any who have 
rejected God here will have the desire, or the moral power, to 
turn to Him there. The heart may be so hardened as to fail to 
receive good impressions, and the will may have become so 
fixed by constant opposition, or so enfeebled by long-continued 
vacillation, that a decisive choice may have become impossible. 

In the natural world there appears to be a law of repair. 
A region devastated by fire or desolated by a flood is 
in the course of years, under the beneficent processes ray ° ° pe ' 
of nature, again restored to its former beauty and productiveness. 

Something that is akin to this we find in the moral world. 
Although iniquity may become intrenched in certain centres, 
and flourish for a long period, it does not multiply and accumu¬ 
late indefinitely. There seems to be within itself a principle of 
restraint and of self-destructiveness. Many of the individuals of 
organized gangs of wicked men perish in quarrels among them¬ 
selves, or in the prosecution of their evil purposes. In many 
other cases the virus of sin appears to become weakened, good 
influences are thrown around them and gradually become effec¬ 
tive, and slowly but surely there comes an immense improve¬ 
ment in the moral condition of the inhabitants of the locality. 
Possibly there may be something of this kind in the unseen 
world. There may be agencies of repair concerning which we 
have no information. But this is merely a hope which love to 
man and certain indications in the moral and the natural worlds 
lead us to entertain, but for which we find no full scriptural 
warrant. 

We have already expressed our opinion that all persons dying 
in infancy will be saved, and that the heathen will either be 
saved without a probation or have an ample oppor- Not the same out- 
tunity to learn the way of salvation through Christ. l 00 h f° ra,L 
To those, also, who have lived under the bondage of superstition, 
and all who have been taught false doctrine regarding the way 
of salvation, we believe that the love of Christ will be manifested 
in all of its power, and that they will be enabled to make an 
intelligent choice of good or of evil as their guiding principle 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


484 

for eternity. To the vast multitudes who live and die in the 
slums of the great cities of Christian lands, who never have had 
a clearer idea of the character of Christ than have the savages 
of Africa, we believe a full opportunity to learn of the real 
Saviour will be given. We cannot believe that they will enter 
the unseen world with the same prospects and be subject to the 
same conditions as will the many bold and intelligent blasphem¬ 
ers who know their duty but defiantly refuse to perform it. For 
the weak and the undecided, and those who desire to be good 
but do not quite grasp the requirements of the law of God, we 
hope that power and light will be given them in the article of 
death in such measure that they will make a decisive choice 
of the good. And we do not deem it impossible that 

“ There the sinful souls that turn 
To the cross their dying eyes, 

All the love of Christ shall learn 
At His feet in Paradise.” 

Some of the points above noted we hold as hopes rather than 
as convictions. But of one thing we are certain. This is that 
now the accepted for those who here and now accept Jesus Christ as 
tSme - their Saviour there is a hope that can never be 

shaken, a hope which is like “ an anchor of the soul ” and which 
can never fail. Here is a hope which is buttressed by the assur¬ 
ances and the promises of God. And it is the only hope which 
has such support. It is laid upon an absolutely secure founda¬ 
tion,— the only one, we believe, upon which man can safely 
build. 

Most, if not all, of us have lost relatives or friends in whom we 
feel the deepest interest and regarding whose present condition 
t we have many anxious thoughts. They had never 

Concerning those J . 0 J 

who have gone publicly confessed Christ, and, so far as we know, 
had not even privately consecrated themselves to 
Him. It seems to us that the chief thing to be done is to trust 
them with God, remembering that they are far dearer to Him 
than they possibly can be to ourselves. Then, looking at the 
matter a little more from the human side, we should remember 
that souls have many deep experiences of which no other person 
in this world ever knows. And if there had been no change be¬ 
fore, it is possible that a decisive choice of Christ was made in 
the article of death. Their failure to comply with certain forms 


THE COMING OF THE LORD 485 

and ceremonies which some have taught were decisive, and 
which we believe should be observed though we do not consider 
them essential to salvation, cannot be regarded as determining 
their present or their final state. As Professor C. A. Briggs, 
D. D., has said: “We can no longer think that any religious 
establishment in this world has now or ever has had the last 
word to say as to the salvation of any one.” It is not for us, or 
for others, to affirm where each and every soul goes at death. 
But concerning the dear ones who have been taken from us 
vve may be sure that, wherever they are, God is doing and will 
continue to do all that can be done for their welfare. 


CHAPTER XXXI 


RETRIBUTION 

The word “ retribution ” may mean a requital for either good 
or evil, but its most frequent use is to designate the infliction of 
penalty or of punishment. In the present chapter 

A definition. t , . . , . , ... . . .. 

it will be used in the latter sense and will principally 
have reference to souls that depart this life without any adequate 
preparation for the great future which awaits them. 

It is a sad fact that multitudes of people, even of those who 
have had the means of grace during all their lives, fail while here 
to make their peace with God. Then there are others 

inequality of 1 . . . . .. . 

opportunities to who live and die as pronounced enemies of all that 
team of chnst. . g g 00c p j n addition to these there are countless 
numbers who have never come under religious influences and 
who pass into the unseen world in almost absolute ignorance of 
God and of their relations to Him. Now it is clear that such 
souls cannot enter the new life on the same plane as do those 
who had placed themselves in harmony with the will of God 
while they were in this world. It is equally clear that all do 
not deserve the same measure of punishment. In some cases 
punishment will be of great severity, in others it may be resolved 
into a deprivation of good, and there is reason to suppose that 
there will be all gradations between these extremes. But even if 
we yield to those who hold in its most elastic form the doctrine 
of the Larger Hope, we must admit that all souls that enter the 
unseen world in a state of enmity to God must be punished. 
The theory of “ Death and Glory ” which was once held to some 
extent has almost wholly given way to the more scriptural and 
more intelligent idea that the soul must at some time obtain 
a fitness for a glorious life before it can obtain the privileges 
and enjoy the blessings which result from such a life. Whether 
the soul that has had light in this world and has refused to do 
its duty will be led by punishment or discipline or persuasion 
or by any other means to repent, we do not affirm, though we 


THE COMING OF THE LORD 


487 


believe that such a soul takes an appalling risk in delaying re¬ 
pentance until after death. But we do affirm that if sin is not 
forgiven it must be punished. 

A great many people have an idea that, so far as the future is 
concerned, the doctrine of retribution is peculiar to the Bible. 
So they assail the Scriptures and point out a few 

..... A / . Retribution a law 

things which appear somewhat inconsistent but of the moral 
which are of little consequence, yet which they mag- wor 
nify into apparently great errors. By all possible means they 
endeavor to break down the authority of the Word of God. 
Some go so far as to renounce its claims altogether. But deny¬ 
ing the truth of the Bible has not the slightest effect upon the 
principles which it sets forth. If every Bible were destroyed 
the truth that punishment follows sin would remain unshaken. 
It is as impossible to eliminate the fact of retribution from the 
moral world as it is to abolish death by an Act of Congress. If 
all the threats against sin which the Bible contains were blotted 
out there would still remain in the heart of man a fear that for 
the sins committed here punishment would be inflicted here¬ 
after. He could not eradicate from his soul the deep and sol¬ 
emn conviction that somewhere, and at some time, it will be ill 
with the wicked. Neither could he escape the punishment which 
conscience tells him he deserves. 

We cannot agree with those who hold that the punishment of 
sin after death is wholly, or principally, vindictive, using this 
term, of course, as carrying the idea of vengeance. Punl3hment not 
We do not believe that God takes pleasure in the principally vin- 
suffering of any of His creatures — even those who 
are the most wicked and rebellious. But He must uphold His 
law. He must show to the universe that He is just. And in 
order to do these things it is as necessary to punish the evil as 
it is to approve the good. 

There are many who hold that the evils which souls suffer for 
their sins are largely preventive or remedial. It is plain that in 
this world a great deal of physical and mental suffer- per /argely 
insf comes to us as the result of ignorance or care- preventiueor 

0 , _ _ .... , remedial. 

lessness. We do not regard this pain as penalty or 
punishment but as a warning, both to ourselves and to others, to 
avoid similar dangers or evils in future. It is consequential, and 
naturally and inevitably results from what we have done. If 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


488 

there is, in the intermediate state, an opportunity for a change 
of character, there can hardly be a doubt that the suffering which 
is there endured will be of such a nature as to tend to prevent 
a continuance in sin and lead to a repentance that will, in part 
at least, remedy the terrible neglect of duty by the soul in this 
world. 

As to the certainty of punishment of unrepented and unfor¬ 
given sin in the future life there can be no possible doubt. But 
ne duration of regarding the duration of that punishment there has 
punishment. been a wide diversity of opinion. Our only infalli¬ 
ble source of information is the Bible. Here we find numerous 
declarations and intimations, but these are so differently inter¬ 
preted by different students that many theories have been devel¬ 
oped therefrom. 

The doctrine of eternal punishment is the most appalling one 
that has ever been presented to the human mind. Yet there 
Etemai punish- is 3 great deal in the New Testament to sustain it. 
ment Christ told of the everlasting fire and of the worm 

that never dies. The Apostle John, in his great vision on the 
Isle of Patmos, saw the smoke of torment which ascendeth for¬ 
ever. We know that the claim is made that some of the words 
in the original language in which the New Testament was writ¬ 
ten have been so translated as to convey the idea of endlessness 
where only a long, indefinite period was meant We know that 
some would greatly modify, in the interests of the Larger Hope, 
the description of the judgment as presented by Christ in the 
twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew, and hold that in all references 
to the fate of the wicked imagery and symbolism were largely 
used. But we also know that Christ would never have used 
such terms unless He designed to express something that was 
of tremendous significance, and that the symbol of the smoke of 
torment which was used by the Apostle John must mean some¬ 
thing that is of the deepest import to the unrepentant soul. 

Whatever may or may not be taught as to the duration of 
the punishment of the wicked, the Scriptures declare in the 
u „„ most emphatic terms that sin must be either forgiven 

insure forgive- or punished. I herefore, concerning those who have 

not been forgiven, we have full warrant for saying that, 
unless God intervenes in some way which He has not yet made 
known, punishment must go on until repentance occurs. If the 


THE COMING OF THE LORD 489 

soul continues to exist, yet never repents, its punishment can 
never end. Some go so far as to assert that even repentance 
would be of no avail. The following lines represent a sentiment 
which, we believe, was once very general among religious people 
who represented numerous strong denominations: — 

“ And there were groans that ended not, and sighs 
That always sighed, and tears that ever wept, 

And ever fell, but not in Mercy’s sight, 

And Sorrow, and Repentance, and Despair, 

Among them walked, and to their thirsty lips 
Presented frequent cups of burning gall. 

And to their everlasting anguish still, 

The thunders from above responding spoke 
These words, which, through the caverns of perdition 
Forlornly echoing, fell on every ear: 

* Ye knew your duty, but ye did it not.’ 

And back again recoiled a deeper groan.” 1 

It is safe to say that sentiment has changed since large num- 1 
bers of religious people adopted and applauded some of the 
harshest statements which are found in the poem from which 
the above extract is taken. Many, in all, continue to hold that 
the punishment of those who die impenitent will be endless, but 
they do so because they cannot find any escape from this doc¬ 
trine when it is tested by the Word of God. But we doubt if 
there are any who have a living faith in Christ, who believe that 
the lost are ever mocked by the holding of “ frequent cups of 
burning gall ” to their thirsty lips, by sorrow, repentance, or 
despair. 

Many of those who hold the principles of the Larger Hope 
believe that the duration of punishment will correspond exactly 
with the duration of sin. They claim that if man 

. i . . . . , . . . _ ... Repentance may 

repents, in this world, or in any other world, and like become impossi- 
the prodigal son returns to his Father, God will re¬ 
ceive him with unspeakable joy. We hold the same view. Any 
man who repents and returns to God will be saved. But we 
dare not say that any man who has known of Christ here, and 
has rejected His claims, will be able to repent after death. For 
those who never knew Christ here, and who may have an oppor¬ 
tunity to learn of Him between death and the judgment, we 
think the point of finality will come at the last day. And from 
what we see in this world, from what We know of the slavery 

1 Robert Pollock, Description of Hell. 


31 * 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


490 

into which sin brings the soul, from certain passages of Scrip¬ 
ture, and especially the solemn words of Christ, “ Whosoever 
shall blaspheme against the Holy Spirit hath never forgiveness, 
but is guilty of an eternal sin,” we are led to believe that some 
souls will never yield in loving obedience to God. 

If punishment must continue as long as the sinner persists in 
his rebellion against God, and if there are some souls which will 
never submit to His authority, it follows either that 
of unrepentant punishment must be without end or else the per¬ 

sonality of these rebellious souls must be destroyed. 
From a human standpoint the extinction of evil from the uni¬ 
verse would seem to be necessary for the full triumph of the 
kingdom of God. It seems as though nothing short of this 
could satisfy His love or fulfill His purposes for the human race. 
And there are some who believe, and a still larger number who 
hope, that when all possibility of their recovery has passed, after 
the sovereignty of God has been clearly manifested and the 
justice of His government has been fully vindicated in the sight 
of the whole universe, some way will be found by wdiich the 
sufferings of the lost can be brought to an end. 

Various theories regarding the condition and fate of lost souls, 
and which have been designed to refute the arguments in favor 
of eternal punishment, have been advanced. Some have held 
that the souls which fail to enter heaven will be punished by 
being deprived of good rather than by the infliction of penalty. 
But this does not at all correspond with the pictures with which 
Christ tried to impress upon his hearers the character of the 
punishment which awaits those who refuse the offer of salvation. 

The theories that those who have no living union with Christ 
will utterly perish at death, or will be annihilated at the judg¬ 
ment, or after undergoing punishment for a limited period, are 
often urged. We cannot accept them because, as shown in the 
chapter on Conditional Immortality, we cannot find satisfac¬ 
tory evidence of the truth of the doctrine upon which they are 
founded. 

Some believe that in the course of ages the force of evil will 
exhaust itself in the soul, as some diseases appear to do in the 
physical body. But that does not correspond with what we see 
in this world, where the longer sin is continued the stronger its 
influence becomes. It seems far more probable, as some have 


THE COMING OF THE LORD 


491 

suggested, that the virulent nature of sin may tend to destroy 
the fibre and fabric of the soul. This process may go on until 
suffering shall cease in a loss of consciousness and a practical 
loss of personality. 

There is also the theory that the soul may perish of inanition. 
It was made to live in communion with God. Its real life must 
come from Him, must be sustained by Him. But if the soul 
continues to wander away, and in process of time makes the 
separation complete and irrevocable, it may become impossible 
for its life, as a personal being, to be continued. 

The suggestion has been made that while the life of the lost 
soul must be weak, yet there is a possibility that the soul itself 
may not be wholly useless. “ Nature is of such Perhapsn ot 
abundance that all orders and conditions of things wholly usele8s - 
are and will be represented. The universe, a scene of infinite 
adaptations seen and unseen, contains, and will contain, vessels 
unto honor, and vessels for meaner service. . . . All the weak, 
evermore and everywhere, do some work for God ever and 
ever .” 1 

An eminent theologian of Switzerland has suggested the pos¬ 
sibility of a change similar to that which the workman effects 
when he finds that a glass which has cooled is not of the shape 
which he designed it to have. He cannot change it as it is, but 
he can put it into the furnace and recast it. “ Can one not 
imagine something similar with regard to the man who has 
refused to fulfill his destiny ? May there not be at the bottom 
of this ruined personality an impersonal human existence which 
God can take back into His hands to draw from it by a subse¬ 
quent development a personality which shall answer to His 
thought ?” 2 

Such are some of the principal theories regarding the final 
disposition of unrepentant souls. Some of them seem to ame¬ 
liorate the horrors of endless punishment, but hardly If possible, justice 
one of them is wanting in the certainty of depriva- nounced than 
tion of good, and nearly all involve suffering, and merc y- 
sorrow, and remorse. And we cannot be sure that any of these 
less fearful forms of doom will be the lot of any unrepentant 
soul. When man strives with his Maker in this world there is 

1 Rev. J. W. Reynolds, The World to Come. 

2 Rev. Frederic Godet, D. D., in That Unkiiown Country. 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


492 

hope that before he is called away he will see the error of his 
course and make full submission to the Being who rightfully 
demands his love and service. If this submission is made we 
have no doubt as to the future welfare of the soul. But if the 
enmity is carried into the next world, we know that there must 
be discipline or punishment which will involve suffering. How 
severe this suffering will be, or how long it will be continued, 
we cannot be sure. Such matters must be left to Him whose 
law has so often been broken, and whose offers of forgiveness 
have so constantly been disregarded. He is a just God; but if 
it can be done without impairing the integrity of His govern¬ 
ment, we may expect that His justice will be largely tempered 
with mercy and compassion. 


CHAPTER XXXII 


THE HEAVENLY HOME 

After the solemn events of the resurrection and the judg¬ 
ment are closed, the blessed will enter their new home. Where 
and what this will be, and the conditions and charac- T he final abode of 
ter of the life which will there be passed, are inter- theri v hteous - 
esting themes. We shall not enter into an extended discussion, 
as a large number of the questions growing out of them have 
been considered in previous chapters. It seemed best to devote 
our study of the future life principally to the period between 
death and the resurrection. This, partly because much that can 
be predicated of this period can be safely assumed in respect to 
the endless age which will begin when time shall end ; partly 
because this intermediate stage lies so much nearer to us; and 
largely because we all have friends who have passed into the 
new life, and about whose present condition we are most anxious 
to learn, but who will not reach the end of the present dispen¬ 
sation sooner than ourselves. 

As we have shown in a preceding chapter, departed souls 
must have some definite place in which to live. The idea that 
there must be a certain “ state” of the soul in order 

...... . . . Heaven a place. 

that it may abide in happiness is correct as far as it 

goes, but is altogether inadequate. Heaven is a place as well 

as a state. 

When we come to consider the exact location of heaven we 
find ourselves in the realm of pure conjecture. Numerous 
answers to the question have been given by writers t 

, * • i • i i Where is heaven 7 

upon this point, but they have varied widely, and 
none of them seem to be decisive. The theory of an invisible 
universe which lies all around us, and perhaps interpenetrates 
the one that we see, has been mentioned in preceding chapters. 
Some believe that when all that is now visible to us passes away, 
this now unseen universe will form the new heavens and the 
new earth which are to abide forever. A far more general 


494 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


belief, and one which is of considerable antiquity, is that the 
stars are to be the final homes of the human race. A compara¬ 
tively recent development is to the effect that Alcyone, the prin¬ 
cipal star in the group known as the Pleiades, is the central sun 
around which all the stars composing our astral system revolve, 
that this star is practically “ the capital of the universe,” and 
that here the kingdom of heaven will be established. This is an 
interesting theory; but as able astronomers of the present day 
declare that the idea of this “ central sun ” is wrong, it may 
prove of no practical value. 

Perhaps the most common belief of all, and one which has 
many Scripture intimations in its favor, is that the present world, 
May be in ws in the form in which it will appear after the great 
world. transformation which it will undergo at or about the 

time of the judgment, will be the place that will be known as 
heaven. It is true that there are other passages which intimate 
that the final home of the blest will be far above the earth, but 
these are indirect and cannot be regarded as decisive. And 
it appears reasonable to suppose that the new heavens and 
new earth mentioned by the Apostle Peter in his Second 
Epistle, and by the Apostle John in the Revelation, will be 
formed from the universe with which we are now familiar. It 
seems fitting, too, that here, where man has sinned and has 
repented, and where Christ has lived and died in order to lead 
him back into right relations with God, should be his heavenly 
home. Some have objected to this theory on the ground that 
the earth will be too small to contain the innumerable host of 
the saved. But to this it may be replied that no one knows 
what will be the dimensions of the earth after it has passed 
through the changes which it is to undergo. Besides, this 
might be the centre of the home, the place where God will have 
His tabernacle with men, and will most fully reveal Himself to 
them, and where Christ will be seen in all His glory; and yet 
this abode might extend, as some have supposed it would do, to 
other worlds and to almost illimitable distances in every direc¬ 
tion. On the supposition, which we believe to be true, that in 
their new bodies the inhabitants of heaven will be able to move 
from place to place, and over almost infinite distances, without 
fatigue, this appears to be the most reasonable and satisfactory 
theory which we have seen described. 


THE COMING OF THE LORD 


495 

While heaven is necessarily a place, it is, also, a great deal 
more than a place. No .locality can be a place of pure and 
exalted happiness to a soul that revels in wickedness. Heaven a state as 
The foundations of the heavenly home are laid in W9tl as a place ' 
character. Christ did not teach His disciples that heaven was 
far away. He did not allow them to think of it as something 
external to themselves, or to suppose that they could go to it as 
they could go to the towns and cities of Judea. And when the 
Pharisees asked Him as to the time at which the kingdom of 
God should come He assured them that it was not to appear 
from without but must be developed from within. Before a man 
could go to heaven he must have heaven within his own heart. 
And this principle can never be modified. The man who has 
no fitness for heaven cannot enter there. 

The conditions of life in heaven are such as to promote the 
perfect happiness of each and every inhabitant. This indicates 
an immense diversity and an endless variety. For T t 

J J The happy con m 

as tastes differ here, so will they differ there. And <#/*/©»• of ///«in 
there, as it is not always the case here, every pure 
taste will be gratified. The powers of body and mind will be 
vastly increased, and the present senses will either be wonder¬ 
fully developed or new and far more efficient ones will be given 
in their stead. 

From the life in heaven all that would tend to injure the body 
or annoy the soul will be forever done away. There will be no 
sickness, or accident, or pain, or anxiety; no separation from 
those whom we love. There will be no- waning of the powers 
of body or of mind as the stream of eternity flows forever on. 
There will be no enervating heat, no piercing cold. And there 
will be no sin and no temptation to sin. In every way the 
inhabitants of heaven will be protected and blest. 

“ Hunger, thirst, disease, unknown, 

On immortal fruits they feed ; 

Them the Lamb amidst the throne 
Shall to living fountains lead ; 

Joy and gladness banish sighs; 

Perfect love dispels all fear, 

And for ever from their eyes 
God shall wipe away the tear” 

That heaven will be a social place there cannot be the slightest 
doubt. We have reason to expect an organized society, a home 


496 LIFE TRIUMPHANT 

life, and the perpetuation of the pure friendships of this world. 

These matters we have discussed in a preceding 
a social place. c h a pt er therefore, do not need to dwell upon 

them here. As we meet our friends in the unseen world there 
will be mutual recognition. These acquaintanceships will be 
continued, and in the course of the endless period awaiting those 
who enter heaven innumerable new ones will be formed. Doubt¬ 
less each one will have his particular home, but he will be freely 
welcomed into the homes of others. And there will be feasts 
and other gatherings at which great numbers will be present. 
The companionship of all the good of this world and of good 
angels is assured, and it is very probable that there will be the 
most pleasant association with numerous other and still higher 
orders of beings. Thus, in the very presence, and with the 
fullest blessing of God and of the great Redeemer, the saved 
will forever rejoice in a social life into which no element of 
discord can enter. 

In the chapter on the Recognition of Friends we noted the 
fact that in the better life some will miss relatives and friends 
whom they dearly loved, but who failed to secure a vital union 
with God. Whether some who had thus far failed will be led to 
Christ during the intermediate period we dare not affirm. But 
though it is an appalling thought, it is doubtless true that some 
will be lost. The question how the knowledge of this fact can 
be reconciled with the perfect joy of the saved has received 
various explanations, several of which were stated in the chapter 
noted. We regard it as one of the great mysteries which only 
God can reveal. But we know that if any are lost it will be of 
their own free will. Whatever almighty power can do to save 
them will be done. And to those who love them the fullest con¬ 
solations will be given. For of the inhabitants of heaven we 
read, in His own Book, that “ God shall wipe away every tear 
from their eyes.” 

The life of heaven will not only be social and happy, but it 
will also be active and energetic. There are numerous state¬ 
ments or intimations in the Scriptures which support 

A life of activity. - . . . - . . f . . 

this assertion, and the constitution of the human 
mind is such as to make activity imperative. It is true that the 
Bible tells of a rest which remains for the people of God, and in 
various places the weary disciple is encouraged by the promise 





CHIMES OF VICTORY 































* 
































% 




























































































































. 










THE COMING OF THE LORD 


497 

that the toil will end erelong and that then sweet rest will come. 
But these passages do not mean that after it enters the heavenly 
home the soul is to spend long periods in idleness. With 
nothing whatever to do its condition would become as irksome 
as its most difficult labor on earth was exhausting. The proper 
interpretation of such promises is that there will no longer be 
toil that will fatigue the body or distract the mind. 

Into how many lines the work of heaven will be directed we 
cannot imagine. We can affirm that there will be all the joyous 
activities of worship. It is not probable that, except at special 
seasons, all members of the vast multitude of the inhabitants of 
heaven will be engaged in this service at the same moment. 
And there may be times when the great congregation will be 
hushed in silent prayer and thanksgiving, though it is to be 
expected that some of the various forms of worship will be almost 
constantly observed. It is true that in his glorious vision of the 
City of God the Apostle John “ saw no temple therein,” but this 
was not because worship had ceased, but because the immediate 
presence and the clear revelation of the glory of “the Lord God 
the Almighty, and the Lamb,” made it needless to set apart any 
special place but converted the whole city into one vast and 
sacred temple. 

Some of the forms of activity which we suggested as possible 
for the soul in the period between death and the judgment can¬ 
not belong to the life of heaven, because the purposes which 
they were designed to serve no longer exist. But it is probable 
that those who are far advanced in the knowledge of God will 
instruct the ones who have made less progress. It is conjec¬ 
tured, too, that souls may be sent from world to world as mes¬ 
sengers of God upon errands regarding which we can form no 
opinion. And there are great numbers, some of them people of 
good education and excellent judgment, who believe that many 
of the employments of this world will be continued in heaven. 
This idea, in a more or less clearly developed form, can be 
traced from the time of the ancient Egyptians to the present 
day. It is not impossible, and it does not seem unreasonable, 
that there is a good deal of truth in this view. We regard it 
certain that there will be work for all, but there will be no 
drudgery, and no weariness will follow the happy, earnest effort 
to do the will of God. 

32 


498 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


“ Service there is rest, 

Rest, service: for the Paradise of saints, 

Like Eden with its toilless husbandry, 

Has many plants to tend, and flowers to thrive, 

And fruit-trees in the garden of the soul, 

That ask the culture of celestial skill.” 1 

With all the activities and enjoyments of the heavenly life 
there will doubtless be a constant and unending progress and 
Constant and per- development in the powers of the soul. As in this 
petuat progress. wor id the use of the mental powers promotes intel¬ 
lectual growth and vigor, and continues to do so until the body 
becomes unable to act efficiently as its servant, it is to be ex¬ 
pected that in the heavenly home, where the resurrection body 
with its vast and tireless powers will do every bidding of the 
soul, this process of development will go on forever. We shall 
always remain finite beings, and for the finite soul progress is 
always possible. Only to the Infinite can perfection be ascribed. 
Therefore we can look forward to a constant growth in wisdom 
and a continuous unfoldment and development of the spiritual 
nature. 

It can also be asserted that the heavenly home is safe and 
abiding. Death has been done away, sickness cannot invade, 
a safe and per- no accident or danger from without or from within 
manenthome. can threaten. The inhabitant of heaven has come 
to his Father s house, “ into which no enemy enters, and from 
which no friend departs.” And here he is to abide forever and 
forevermore. For when the judgment is passed the line of 
time, which has held to a direct course since its beginning, will 
enter the circle of eternity, a circle which once entered can have 
no end. 

One of the sources of joy to the inhabitants of heaven will be 
the presence of a vast assemblage of souls which have been 
redeemed and saved. The Apostle John described it 

A vast multitude. . 1 J 

as “ a great multitude, which no man could number, 
out of every nation, and of all tribes and peoples and tongues.” 
There will be special loves and friendships as on earth, but there 
will be no jealousy, no envy, no bitterness. Every act will be 
directed by love. All will be the happy children of the one 
Father whom they adore. In what manner they will commu¬ 
nicate with each other, whether by means of language or by 

1 Rev. Edward Henry Bickersteth, D. D., Employment in Heaven . 


THE COMING OF THE LORD 


499 

mental impressions which may be received and understood at 
any distance, cannot be determined, but it appears probable that 
both methods will be employed. Some have assumed that 
Hebrew was the language used in paradise and that it will be 
the language of heaven, — a harmless but an entirely fanciful 
theory. But whatever the method may be, it is certain that all 
who dwell in heaven will be able to communicate with each 
other, and with God, with the utmost facility. 

It has been said that heaven is a place. Perhaps some of our 
readers expect us to give an elaborate description of this locality 
in which God especially dwells and the saved have No adequate de- 
their eternal home. It would be useless to attempt 8crI P tion p° 88ible - 
such a description. Where is the man who can adequately 
describe the dazzling splendor of the noonday sun, the view from 
some lofty mountain peak, the serenity of some secluded valley, 
the colors of a gorgeous sunset, or the glories of a starlit winter 
night ? Every effort would be a failure. And if man cannot 
satisfactorily describe the things which he has seen on earth, it 
will be worse than labor lost for him to attempt to describe the 
glories of the world which is not only unseen but is infinitely 
superior to this. 

Those who want material pictures of the heavenly home 
should look upon the earth in the seasons in which its glories are 
most fully manifested, when vegetation is most ex- outward magnifi - 
uberant and animal life is most active and vigorous. cence * 

Let them think of the mountains and the seas, of the forests 
and the plains, and of beautiful landscapes which show such 
wonderful changes under the variations of light and shade; and 
as they are impressed thereby let them remember that all of this 
beauty and glory is shown in a world that is under the curse of 
sin. Then let them try to think what glories the earth would 
present if that curse were removed. 

All these natural glories we may expect in the new home. 
Everything that is noxious in any form will be excluded. But 
there will be mountains and plains, and rivers and seas, and 
animals, and trees and plants; and the vast variety of animate 
and inanimate objects which so richly adorn this world will be 
there in unfading beauty and imperishable form. 

Turning in another direction, let those who desire visible 
representations direct their thoughts to the most beautiful and 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


500 

most magnificent cities of this world, and then think how they 
compare with the city that “ lieth foursquare,” “ having twelve 
gates,” the wall of which was jasper, “ and the city was pure 
gold, like unto pure glass ”— the city that “ hath no need of the 
sun, neither of the moon, to shine upon it: for the glory of God 
did lighten it, and the lamp thereof is the Lamb.” Let them 
think of the busy life of the cities of earth and compare it with 
the activity of the city in which “ ten thousand times ten thou¬ 
sand, and thousands of thousands ” of holy beings proclaim the 
merit of Him who came to earth to ransom sinful souls. Let 
them read all that the Apostle John has written in regard to the 
heavenly home, but remember as they read, that, although he 
was inspired, he was subject to the limitations of human lan¬ 
guage, and was able to give only a faint outline of a description 
which he had neither the power nor the means fully to express. 

After all that can be said of the outward glories of the hea¬ 
venly home, it must be remembered that the chief sources of 
ne eternal peace enjoyment are not to be found in the magnificence 
of the soui. 0 f external surroundings, however glorious they may 

be, but that they lie within the soul itself. The complete revela¬ 
tion of the love of God, the intimate communion with Jesus 
Christ, the absolute eradication of all desire to sin, the com¬ 
panionship of those who were dear to us on earth and of num¬ 
berless other holy children of God, the rest and peace, and 
feeling of security which springs from the assurance that no evil 
or anxiety of any kind can disturb the soul henceforth forever, 
and the entire gratification of every longing and desire, — 
these sweet, and silent, and holy influences will be the most sat¬ 
isfying of all the joys of the heavenly life. But these joys will 
be supplemented and heightened by the exquisite beauties, the 
radiant glories, and the brilliant splendors of the city which is 
to be the dwelling-place of our God, and the eternal home of all 
who have given their hearts to Him. 

“ In it all is light and glory; 

O’er it shines a nightless day: 

Every trace of sin’s sad story, 

All the curse, hath passed away.” 


CONCLUSION 


THE GREAT CONSUMMATION 

When the great events of the resurrection and the judgment, 
with others closely related to them, have closed, the designs and 
purposes of God respecting His kingdom in this neendofthe 
world and within the limits of time will have been Go 8 P ela »«• 
consummated. The time of which the Prophet Isaiah had told 
far back in the distant past when “ the ransomed of the Lord 
shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting 
joy shall be upon their heads: they shall obtain gladness and 
joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away,” has come. This, 
with numerous other prophecies, has been fulfilled. The past 
has been rounded out to completion. The Gospel age has come 
to an end. Many of the results of this great consummation have 
been described, but a few points require somewhat fuller treat¬ 
ment in this closing chapter. 

After the establishment of the Christian church each indi¬ 
vidual who became connected with it was a single, and, because 
there cannot be perfect communion in this world, to The church of 
some degree necessarily, an isolated member of a Christ 
certain fold. The church with which he was united was only 
one of the thousands, or hundreds of thousands, of churches 
then existing on the earth which, though united by the bonds of 
Christian fellowship, were yet separated by the limitations of 
space and time. They were also, in part, separated from those 
who had served God worthily under the Old Dispensation, and 
the later believers in Christ who had been taken into the spir¬ 
itual world. With the great consummation all this has been 
done away. The churches whose numbers and whose member¬ 
ship had, during the progress of time, increased beyond all the 
powers of the finite mind to compute or to comprehend, are 
now gathered, in perfect love and communion, in the immediate 
presence of their Saviour and their Lord. Commencing with 



LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


502 

the individual Christian here upon earth there has been union, 
and development, and organization, and transference, until each 
and every member of the “ great multitude, which no man could 
number,” has a place of happiness and usefulness in the mighty 
host that forms the unbroken ranks of the redeemed. 

Both Scripture and human reason teach that the natural world 
was designed to be in harmony with man. But while it still has 
The transforms much of beauty, and does much to supply his wants, 
non of nature. j s no t, an d f or a g es ft has no t been, his ally. In 

order to obtain the plants which he desires he must give them 
constant care and wearisome toil. If left to itself for only a short 
time the finest field soon grows up to trees or to worthless 
plants. In order to maintain his supremacy over the fields 
which he has subdued man must be alert and energetic. If he 
relaxes his vigilance the thorns and the thistles which have come 
as one of the results of his failure to keep in right relations to 
God, and to the world which was formed as the theatre of his 
probation, or education, will soon secure and will permanently 
maintain possession. 

The elements, too, often prove destructive to man and destroy 
his choicest possessions. The lightning, the cyclone, the earth¬ 
quake, the volcano, the tidal wave, and the tempest, each and 
all are terrible instruments of destruction before which man is 
utterly powerless. Then, also, in the animal world we see un¬ 
questionable evidence of hostility to man. Yet it was the design 
of God that nature should be kindly and that the animals should 
be subject to man. Many species have been domesticated and 
made useful, but even of these there are not a few which need 
constant oversight and restraint. If allowed to escape from his 
control it is found that in one or two generations they revert to 
the wild type and will serve him no longer. A large number of 
other species still maintain, and will long continue, their antag¬ 
onism to man. 

In the final processes which lead to the great consummation 
all this will be changed. As man has been regenerated and 
a reatchan e ra * sec * f rom the l° w plane of a life of sin to a condi¬ 
tion of holiness, so the natural world which has par¬ 
ticipated with him in his suffering and degradation must also be 
regenerated. The Apostle Peter, on the authority of Christ Him¬ 
self, assures his readers that the present heavens and earth shall 


THE GREAT CONSUMMATION 


503 

be destroyed, and that in their stead we are to “ look for new 
heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness,” and 
in the Revelation of Saint John we are told of “a new heaven 
and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth are 
passed away.” Science agrees with revelation in the prediction 
that, in its present form, the earth will be destroyed. 

Many have supposed that this destruction would be annihila¬ 
tion, and that the new heavens and the new earth would be new 
creations, but as science teaches that matter cannot be annihi¬ 
lated, and as in the case of man there is regeneration, instead of 
the destruction of one being and the creation of another, it may 
be regarded as certain that nature will be thoroughly purified 
and renovated rather than made entirely new. There can be no 
question, however, that the work of reconstruction will be on a 
most stupendous scale. This we are led to expect not only from 
the imagery of the Scriptures but also from what we know has 
occurred when the individual life of other worlds has come to an 
end. It will undoubtedly be a scene of great spectacular mag¬ 
nificence. 

As to the exact extent of this transformation no finite intelli¬ 
gence can determine. We see no reason to hold, with some, that 
the whole universe will pass through this tremen- T he extent of this 
do us change. But we believe that all that has been trans f° i ' matlon - 
closely connected with man will be regenerated. Concerning 
this it is reasonable to expect that this world at least will receive 
“ a reconsecration ... as of a temple that sin had profaned .” 1 
For this redemption from the curse of sin nature herself is some¬ 
times represented as looking with an earnest and steadfast desire. 
Thus in the eighth chapter of the Epistle of Paul to the Romans 
we read: “For the earnest expectation of the creation waiteth 
for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was sub¬ 
jected to vanity, not of its own will, but by reason of him who 
subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also shall be deliv¬ 
ered from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory 
of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation 
groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.” And there 
are other passages in the Scriptures which indicate that with the 
full redemption of man the curse will be lifted from the natural 
world. We believe that all nature will be glorified, that the spe- 

1 Rev. James Denney, D. D., Studies in Theology. 


504 


LIFE TRIUMPHANT 


cies of animals and plants and trees which have pleased men 
here will appear in far greater beauty in the new earth. Possi¬ 
bly, too, the animals which now are dangerous or noxious to man 
may be so changed as to be objects of beauty and pleasure and 
have a place with those which are now docile and useful. Inani¬ 
mate nature, too, may be so transformed as to make every spot 
in the new earth a place of beauty and a scene of enchantment. 

We have shown how death, though in some ways beneficent, 
is the great enemy of man. He is an enemy which every human 
The overthrow of being must meet and before whose power every cre- 
death. ated f orm 0 f Hf e m ust fall. But with the great con¬ 

summation this power of death will be forever overthrown. In 
his vision on Patmos the Apostle John saw that “ death and 
Hades were cast into the lake of fire.” And when he had seen 
the new heaven and the new earth he gave this joyous and inspir¬ 
ing assurance: “ Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and 
He shall dwell with them, and they shall be his peoples, and God 
Himself shall be with them, and be their God; and He shall 
wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no 
more; neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any 
more.” 

The long contest between good and evil, in which the advan¬ 
tage has often appeared to be with the wrong, has come to a 
ne complete sup- decisive and an eternal close. In preceding chap- 
pression of evil. |- ers we have fully considered the probable condition 
of those who up to this time have remained disobedient. If per¬ 
sonal existence continues it is in such form and under such 
conditions as to prevent all renewal of strife. No rebel flag will 
ever be raised again. We hope some way for the final extinc¬ 
tion of evil from the universe will be found. But if that fails, 
we are sure of its absolute and eternal subjection. The author¬ 
ity of God will never again be defied. He has vindicated His 
ways and works in the sight of all created intelligences. And 
whatever the result of probation or education may be as it con¬ 
cerns any particular individual, every soul, from that of Adam 
down to the latest born on earth, will freely and fully acknow¬ 
ledge that He has been not only a just but also a loving God. 

In the closing scenes of the present dispensation the problem 
of sin will be solved. Everything and every creature in the 
new heavens and the new earth will be in perfect harmony with 


THE GREAT CONSUMMATION 


505 

the will of God. All nature will exhibit a glory and a splendor 
of which mortals never dreamed, and will be conse- The prayer of the 
crated to the eternal service of the Creator and the ages an8wered - 
use and pleasure of all who love Him. Then will be fully and 
forever answered the ceaseless prayer of the ages — Thy King- 
dom Come. 

With the progress of the great events which will mark the 
final perfecting of the kingdom of God, our Great Redeemer, 
the Son of Man and the Son of God, who, though TheCr0 ssof 
He died upon a cross, has raised man from a state Chri8t ° ,ct0ri0U8 - 
of sin and degradation to a condition of purity and exaltation, 
will assume His rightful throne, upon which as “ King of kings 
and Lord of lords ” He will reign forevermore. His followers 
who formed the church militant on earth have been gathered 
into the glorious church triumphant in heaven, and look forward 
with unshaken confidence to a future of undisturbed peace and 
of unending joy. But we believe that the symbol of loyalty and 
fidelity, which they so frequently carried, and around which 
they so often rallied in this world, will never be discarded. 
Through all the age that shall have no end the cross of Christ, 
so often despised, reviled, and scorned by the enemies of His 
cause, will stand on some majestic height in the City of God, as 
the emblem of the glorious triumph of Him who has conquered 
death. 

“In the cross of Christ I glory, 

Towering o’er the wrecks of time; 

All the light of sacred story 

Gathers round its head sublime.” 




/ 


5 o 

(01-/ 3 3> 


\ 

\ 










































Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: August 2005 


PreservationTechnologies 

A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 


111 Thomson Park Drive 
Cranberry TownshiD. PA i fiORfi 






























